Discovered Spies with Courage
by RusNydia
Summary: Severus is being hunted down after being revealed as a spy. While trying to hide, he had to take along an abandoned child that is easily shook up and does the oddest things with his hands.
1. Traitors Get Hunted

If you even clicked on this than I would like to thank you for giving this a chance seeing as this is the first of its kind! Yes!

I don't own Harry Potter. I don't own Courage the Cowardly Dog. I believe one belongs to CTN while the other belongs to a very nice woman by the name of J. K. Rowling.

Warning: long as Hell, profanity, improbability

(**)

It was in the middle of the Order of the Phoenix meeting that it happened. Remus did not really acknowledge the lone figure in the corner, no one really did. They didn't know his name or why he was on their side. He didn't speak to anyone and ignored any that tried to speak to him. He would come in the house, black cloak swirling around his thick boots like the wings of some dark angel (or bat as Sirius would say) and sit with his hood low over his face. They didn't know his hair color or even the color of his skin for that matter. He wore thick black gloves and, no matter how hot Sirius made it, he never removed a single layer of clothing.

"He's a spy for us," Dumbledore would say. That was all they knew of the Mystery Meeting Man. Of course that got James and Sirius suspicious once they realized that to be a spy the man would have to be a part of the Death Eaters. That didn't sit well with the other two so they tried various, underhanded things to unmask him. None of them ever worked, as if the man knew their pranks and knew how to dodge them.

That was when it happened. The man was leaning against the wall to Remus' left as he gave his report when a quiet gasp of pain reached his ears. He stopped speaking and watched as the man strode to Albus, cloak swishing around his ankles. Whatever he said to the old man was too low for even Remus to hear it but Albus nodded and urged the man away.

"He has business to attend," Albus said as eyes turned to him in question.

"Oh, no, wait!" Lily cried, jumping from her chair as much as a six month pregnant woman could jump. The man stilled but did not turn around even as the young woman's hand landed on his shoulder. Lily smiled brightly, happy that the wool cloak emitted a type of warmth that only a living body could have. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she thought him nothing more than a spectral. Gently, she placed a bit of force to guide him into a turn so that he was at least facing her. Once his eyes—well she thought so—were on her she held up the brightly wrapped parcel in her hands.

"Christmas is in ten days and I know that we are in the middle of a war but, what you do is valuable and I just wanted to thank you some... how…" Lily stopped, smile wavering for a second as his hands didn't rise to take it.

To say that everyone in the room was utterly flabbergasted at the redhead's gall would be an understatement. Not a single soul in that room had discussed the holidays, what with a madman running about and even if they had, none of them would have gotten a gift for the Mystery Meeting Man.

"Wait, darling, I have something for you too! It's not much but I thought it would be nice for you to have something warm," Alice Longbottom shouted as she pushed herself to her feet. The expecting woman bounced over in all her pregnant glory. The man took half a step backwards as he was faced with two women holding gifts out to him. A few sounds came from the man's throat as he obviously fought for something to say. If any of them were waiting to hear his voice they were sorely disappointed as he merely nodded and took the two parcels carefully.

He opened his cloak, putting the gifts inside then pulled out a small vial. He paused and threw the vial down as hard as possible. To their utter surprise and joy a plethora of colors and cheerful tinkles erupted and swirled around the room.

"That's a Christmas Carol!" Peter stated, mystified. In their amazement, none of them noticed as the Mystery Man slipped out of the front door.

(**)

"It has come to my attention that there is a traitor in our midst," the man hissed as he stood before the gathered nine before him. Their hoods were drawn high over their head but a wave of an unnaturally pale hand caused the hoods to fall back by a strange gust of wind. The faces of the nine were hidden by silver masks that held eccentric swirls though they were each different in markings.

"I shall give the traitor a chance to redeem his soul by coming forward and confessing," the man continued. He stopped pacing and faced the nine though two seemed to breathe easier seeing as they were women and the traitor was obviously a man. Voldemort waited, eyeing each mask. However, no one stepped forward; no one said a single thing. "Come do not be shy!"

Not a single man or woman of the Inner Circle shifted to step forward not that Voldemort truly believed that the traitor would. That's what a traitor was—a coward to a cause that he once believed in. They were hypocrites that became too scared once a bit of blood was shed or a life was lost. They were disgusting idiots that did not deserve to live much less wear his mark!

"Anthony Zabini, step forward," Voldemort ordered, pearly white teeth bared in a disgusting smile on his pale but handsome face. The man stepped forward, broad shoulders straight and proud. The man was nearly built on muscles and there was no mistaking that this man was a man of physical power. "If there was anyone in our Circle, who would you think is our traitor…?"

"The Gryffindor," the deep voice did not hesitate nor did it shake as the shorter man drew closer. Blood red eyes bore out from the handsome, white face and glared into the light brown eyes inside the mask. Anthony took a deep breath mentally and held steadfast, not flinching as a sharp nailed hand came up and ripped his mask from his face.

"Do not give me that generic answer! I know for a fact that he is loyal—something that I cannot say the same for any of you. Dig deep in that thick skull and come up with a better answer!" Voldemort wrapped his hand around the darkly tinted throat and gave a small squeeze. He could feel the man's Adam's apple working under his palm.

"It… it would not be Narcissa nor Lucius Malfoy for she is expecting as of now and she cannot risk your wrath over even the slightest of things. Bellatrix is your consort. I am not a fool and my wife does not take part but we know that she would not oppose you. Lestrange brothers are devoted to their core. The six of us… we are the most loyal. However there is Black and Snape to consider. One has shown hesitance when you order him and the other has a deep love for someone that is a known fighter for the light," Anthony worked out.

A smile that was less nasty and more becoming spread over the shorter wizard's face. The dark skinned man was correct in his analysis. He had thought on it for days before and it was true. Severus, although useful with potions and spells, always showed a hint of hesitance when it came to killing directly. Regulus' brother, Sirius, was a known member of Order of the Phoenix.

"Regulus and Severus step forward," Voldemort commanded, pushing Anthony back in line with a bit of magic seeing as the man was bigger than he. The two men came forward, their faces completely blank even as their masks were torn off. Neither wavered when their hoods were yanked off their heads nor when their faces were roughly grabbed.

He looked into the empty, dark eyes that belonged to his valued potions master, searching for any signs of traitorous thoughts though he resisted the urge to push into the young mind before him. He had discovered that nothing caused the younger to release his mind shields so it would simply be a waste of time.

Then his brown eyes located the stormy blue eyes that belonged to Regulus Black. The man was the youngest of their followers that had joined the Inner Circle but he was a true symbol of the Black legacy. His stoic eyes did not flinch, not even as the older man pushed at his mind's defense hard enough for several memories to surface but not completely go inside.

"I cannot decide which of you betrayed our Cause so I have a proposal," Voldemort shrugged and stepped away from the two men. Regulus let out a mental sigh of relief while Severus was still holding his breath. Voldemort was on the brink of insanity, the young Potions Master could see it in the man's eyes, and he was paranoid at the moment after ripping his soul so many times. The fact that the Light did not seem to be crumbling did not soothe the man's ire. A spy in their midst would cause him to eliminate any suspects… even the one that was not a spy.

"Shanzi and Danzo," Voldemort called out. Two beings materialized from the darkness behind the Dark Lord. One was a woman of average height and curvy build. Her face had an elaborate golden mask with two large, black horns that covered the top half of her face. She barely wore clothing—a lion clothe decorated with a small human like skull and a cloth that covered her breasts just barely. Her dark legs and arms were decorated with gold bands. In her hand she held a tall staff with three smiling, demon like skulls stabbed onto the top whilst a snake slid from her arm to the staff. In her right hand she held a wicked dagger that practically wept with dark magic and the blood of those she had slain.

The other was a man with slanted red eyes and long white hair that flowed around his shoulders in a mystery window. Compared to the woman, he appeared normal in nature with his tailored suit however, there was an aura coming from him that practically chocked all those that gazed at him with its evil intent.

"Shanzi is a witch doctor from the bowels of Africa—while most of the continent has been westernized; there are clans that still practice the Old Magick that has been known to be a little… dark. Danzo is a half-demon spawned from the lions of an arch demon and mad witch," Voldemort introduced them as if they were the most normal things in the world. Regulus felt his leg give a harsh jerk almost as if his legs wanted to run but his brain told him that it would be stupid to do so. He stared straight ahead and remained calm.

"You have five minutes to run starting now."

Okay so remaining calm did not truly work for his mouth still fell open as he gaped at the Dark Lord.

"Are you telling me that my cousin is to be hunted down like an animal and put to death by your two dogs?" a voice suddenly snapped. Regulus and Severus had yet to move from that spot, staring at the two beings that were smiling such twisted smiles that it was impossible to not allow the fear to run through their young bodies.

"Hold your tongue woman. Your cousin may very well be the spy for the Order and if he is not, he cares for his brother enough to think of betraying me," Voldemort said calmly. "Four minutes."

(**)

Severus ran as fast as he could, forcing his legs to go harder than he ever thought possible. Sweat poured down his body and pooled on his forehead. His heart pounded in chest, nearly bursting through the strong bones that protected it.

He looked around the dark and deserted streets, trying to assess his surroundings even for a brief second. He didn't know which one was hunting him. There wasn't one that he would prefer but he knew from experience that knowing his hunter would bring him that much closer to not dying.

Severus prayed for Regulus to have some kind of way of surviving. After all Severus had been running for nearly two days and he had yet to stop for long. He had even gone as far as to escape to America. He had an uncle that had the necessary protection that would allow him to rest for a day or two so that he could replenish his body and tell the Order of his failure and the spy within their circle.

A hearty chuckle sounded behind him ripped away any thought of resting. Whirling around, Severus saw nothing but stretching darkness and—

"Shit…" Severus would not call it a whimper. He did not whimper but he knew that there was more fear in his veins than blood at the moment. Not seven feet away stood her. The witch doctor and Severus was not ignorant when it came to different branches of magic.

Old Magick was difficult but it came natural to certain bloodlines. It could summon demons and control ghosts. It could rid a body of pain but cause suffering while also controlling the weather. Severus had a distinct feeling that this woman, Shanzi, would not be healing him nor did he think that she'd make it rain.

"You are strong young man. Not muscles but strong in mind and with magic. You are clever and will be much fun to chase… difficult unlike your brother Englishmen. The half-breed will find him before week is out," the witch doctor said, her voice sturdy and thick.

"How long… how long am I to be chased?" Severus asked, throat suddenly dry. The witchdoctor smiled and removed her mask, showing a lovely face covered with a white paint but her eyes were horrifying in their round soullessness.

"The hybrid man has told us… half of month or first to die. Half of month gone, you are free but stay out of his way," Shanzi stated. Severus nodded, heart still pounding in his chest. He would have to disappear for half a month. As Shanzi raised her left hand and began to chant Severus realized that Narcissa was wrong about one thing. He and Regulus were not going being hunted like animals by dogs. They were being hunted by wolves.

Severus swallowed hard and observed as calmly as he could in such a situation in which a witchdoctor was obviously about to cause havoc. Behind her he could see the shadows morphing and twisting. Ten pair of red eyes stared out at him from the darkness and white teeth began to snarl out at him. He was sure that a few cackles were going around in the darkness.

"Demon hyenas…" Severus whispered. Shanzi let out a deep laugh that came from deep inside her belly. A white smile erupted on the full lips that Severus could still see. It wasn't a nice smile by any means and it sent shivers down Severus' damp back.

"You are correct. You should run clever man. Run and pray to your god that the sun rises all the faster," the woman warned and suddenly she was gone with little more than the crack of thunder. Severus cursed under his breath and took off once again.

(**)

"Damn fucking idiot! I told you he wouldn't be out for long!" the woman hissed harshly as she gingerly gripped the bundle in her stick thin arms. She looked down at the large parcel she held in her arms, wincing as dark eyes began to flutter back into consciousness. She turned to the man who had been just been inches behind her but was now several feet away and scowling heavily as she continued her curses.

"Listen woman, it was your demon seed in the first place. I gave it enough tranquilizers to put down a small elephant," the man sneered, glancing up at the skies as a loud crash of thunder sounded. He turned back to the woman only to watch as she let out a shriek and dropped her burden.

"It woke up! I told you it wouldn't be enough. I told you we should have burned it in the oven but no—you wanted to have it… well, fuck it maybe it'll starve out here on its own. No one would want such a freak. Let's go," the woman urge, rushing over to the stocky man. His face was already warped into a sneer but it darkened as the woman began to pull on his large arm. "Matt we have to go!"

"Jacqueline, we should do this right! The church will exorcise it or kill it—leaving him here gives it a chance to follow us," the man protested, eyes narrowed with hatred as he gazed at the shivering blanket. The blond rubbed a hand through her hair and looked back at the blanket she had dropped.

"Shit… fuck… listen… listen! He… it woke up. He's… its stronger now and—I'm leaving with or without you dumb ass," Jacqueline growled, ripping her arm out of the strong grip. Matt opened his mouth, obviously ready to protest more but didn't have a chance as a demonic cackle sounded in the still night. The blond woman let out a whimper and began to run, followed soon by the man.

"Watch where you're going, idiot," an old man grumbled after them seeing as Matt had barreled right into the thin man and his heavyset wife. He didn't bother to reply or warn them of the type up creature in the alleyway. If they were unlucky enough to notice it or touch it, then that was their problem… not his.

(**)

Severus cursed and dodged a well-aimed lunge from his demonic pursuer, getting nicked from a jagged claw that would have torn his backs to shreds if given the chance. He had placed his wand in his sleeve long ago, not wanting to risk draining his magic uselessly and being too tired to run. Actually, his burning lungs and protesting muscles were nearly at their limits as he thought on preserving magic. He would have to find a place to hide.

Severus ducked turned the corner sharply, listening as a couple of yelps sounded as the beasts ran into either the wall or each other and darting down the street. He had to—shit! There were people walking in his and the beasts' direction. Severus cursed once again and threw himself into the alleyway. Five feet in, he tripped on something.

"What in blazes?" he cursed as the bundle clung to his leg. Harsh breaths erupted from Severus' throat and he reached out, taking the sheet in his head and pulling it as hard as he could. What was under the dirty blanket surprised him more than anything—it was a boy. A boy that would be killed by the hyenas should he leave him there. Severus didn't have time to decide whether or not he wanted to protect the obviously abandoned child.

"Be quiet, boy," he ordered, grabbing the child and pulling him as close as he could. Severus murmured swiftly under his breath, eyes closed as he concentrated and prayed to all and any of the Gods that this would work. Severus could feel the cool shadows wrap around his body and drag him and the trembling child he clutched under their protection. Soft whispers swirled around them repeatedly until, urging them to stay forever. The boy gave a whimper and Severus felt a small hand clutch at his soaked shirt.

"I know that you are scared but you can't speak… shh, don't make a sound and keep your eyes closed," Severus urged, his deep voice rumbling even as he opened his own eyes. He placed on of his hands gently over the boys eyes and rocked as much as he dared without disrupting his spell. He looked around the shadows, used to their whispers already and the feel of them reaching out. He ignored them and watched as the demon hyenas stepped into the alley.

Many thought that the dark was only good for spawning evil. Even though the demons had stepped from the shadows upon Shanzi summoning them, they did not live there. Severus was quite fluent with the language of the shadows and he knew that it would protect those that truly needed it. It would hide him from all those that tried to harm him for as long as his magic could bear.

Severus winced when a knobby elbow from the child bumped into a cracked rib. He looked from the hyenas now prowling the alleyway down at the child, seeing him perfectly in the darkness. He was an odd looking child with bright, retina damaging pink hair. He was of fair complexion and looked to be around ten years old but… was he covered in bruises? No wonder the brat was shivering hard enough to make his bones rattle.

"They're gone…?" Severus said to himself softly as the demons suddenly took off to the other side of the alleyway and somewhere away. He briefly wondered as to why they had run so fast but then the shadows began to mutter with disdain and he understood.

The sun was rising.

(**)

The End

So yes, I screwed with the timeline JUST a little bit! I wanted Severus to spy before Harry was born.

Let's see… I did human-Courage… you wanna know why? Cause I can. You see how I did that? He'll be his same spaz self with those damn… hand morphing shadows. God, I need a hobby.


	2. You Dumb Child

Another chapter, another time—aren't you so guys so happy? I am!

Oh yes, I don't own Harry Potter. I don't own Courage the Cowardly Dog and… I'm insane?

(**)

A tall, blank faced man walked down the street, his long legs stretching far as he practically devoured the sidewalk with his strides. His boxy glasses glinted in the sun, hiding the dark blue eyes that swept his surroundings with the proficiency of a predator. As he came upon an alleyway, he paused and carefully gazed down into its dark depths. Even though the sun shone bright behind him, the alley continued to be suspiciously shadowed. A smirk came to the man's face as he stepped into the alley.

"Come with us… stay with us. Come into our arms and spend the evening or forever here," the cool whispers and soothing tendrils wrapped around his ankles and caressed the silky white hair that framed his face. The man let out a scoff and rolled his eyes as the shadows tried to draw him in their cooling embrace. He was surely no fool.

"Remove yourselves from the man that I seek. He's quite the nitwit when he wishes but that doesn't mean I'll let my own nephew waste away with the likes of you," he sneered, folding his long arms over his chest. The shadows around him murmured their displeasure and their disappointment like pouting children before they slowly crawled away from the slouching figure. He looked over the sweat laced black hair plastered to the damp forehead of the trembling, obviously unconscious man. The glasses wearing man frowned deeply as he noticed the similarly unconscious child clinging to the man's shirt.

"May we… keep the child?"

"No, no… I am sure that it would only make my nephew throw one of his infamous hissy fit," the man sighed reluctantly and strode over to the man. As he scooped the skinny man into his arms, he let out a sigh and glanced up at the skies. 'I hope that you are happy about this, Eileen,' he thought tiredly.

(**)

Severus launched up from the bed he resided in, dark eyes gazing around the room carefully. It was of medium size with sufficient space to be able kill who ever had captured him. He only hoped that he hadn't ended up in some muggle home because the couple wanted to be helpful. That would only cause them to die and he honestly didn't want to be the cause of any more deaths.

"You are just as daft as my nephew, now come from behind that television and eat the food Muriel has prepared you dumb child," a very familiar, still British accented voice assaulted Severus' ears and he let out a low groan as he dropped his head in his hands. He had so hoped that he would find his way to his uncle's house without any injuries so that the man would be able to see that he took care of himself quite well but no, the man just had to find him because he couldn't stand back up after exhausting himself with the shadows. He could only imagine the things his uncle had muttered and complained about as he set him on the bed he rested on.

Wait… had he heard his uncle say 'Muriel'… dammit, that meant—

"Hello dearie! I thought you'd never wake up what with how bad those cuts were—did you get attack by a bear?" the door burst open and there stood Grandmother Muriel with a tray loaded with food. Severus groaned and pulled himself into a better position to take the offered tray.

"No, Grandmother, I did not get attack by a bear. I simply—," Severus tried to lie but it was completely destroyed as his uncle's tall, broad body appeared in the doorway. He gave his uncle a quick once over, jumping from the gray sweater to the white pants to the gray trainers. Honestly, the man was just as boring as when he last saw him.

"He was mauled by a demon, Aunt Muriel," the dry tone of his Uncle taunted and apparently he was just as evil. His grandmother let out a loud gasp and nearly dropped the food only Severus had a firm hold on it. He pulled it onto his lap and looked down at the stack of pancakes, hash brown, thick slices of bacon, and the two sunny side-up eggs that she had prepared.

"Uncle, you do not know the meaning of a secret… do you?" Severus grumbled, picking up his fork. He didn't want to look at his near-squib grandmother because he already knew the expression that was going to be on her face and it definitely wasn't concern.

"Don't look away from me, young man!" Muriel shouted, raising a hand and bringing it down harshly on his head. Severus winced and clutched at his aching head, sending a mild glare at the plump woman. She barely winced and pulled a chair up to his bedside that she could sit down. "Now tell me why you are being chased by demons!"

If any of the Death Eaters could see him now, they would have laughed their faces red. He was being bullied by an old woman in a yellow dress and rain boots. He sighed and glanced from his Uncle to his Grandmother Muriel Prince.

Muriel Prince had once been a beautiful, talented witch. She was not the first in line to be Heir to the Prince line but she had been pretty close to being the most talented with her healing abilities and the temper that seemed to circle around all the redheads he knew. The Prince line had an awful protocol of keeping their bloodline perfectly clean and away from muggle stench. Muriel, the stubborn Scottish woman that she was, continued to see the love of her life—Eustace—and soon became swollen with child. It was quite hard keeping the secret of an upcoming child so her family stripped her of most of her magic and banished her from their family.

Severus suspected that they had wanted to banish her for years after taking a young metamorphmagus who called himself 'Computer' but was a half-blood. The two were thrown in the dirt with only Eustace to support them. They stayed in America where the illicit love affair had started and the rest was history. Uncle Computer never called Muriel mother but he did not see any foul with calling her aunt.

"I… Grandmother, must I tell you that right now? Isn't it obvious that the child is in need of your assistance more than I?" Severus said smoothly as he spotted the shaking form of the pink haired boy he had saved peeking around the doorframe. Computer turned his head and looked down at the child who slowly looked up, letting out a squeak as his dark black eyes connected with dark blue.

"Oh, the poor dear doesn't eat anything I try to give him," Muriel's attention was sufficiently distracted as she locked her bespectacled eyes on the small boy. He let out a whimper as he noticed the old woman staring at him and pulled at his loose shirt.

"Get from behind me and in the room you twit," Computer finally snapped, using his leg to practically kick the child inside. He let out a loud squeak and gained his bearings swiftly, bouncing on his toes as he looked at the two adults still staring at him. The thick old woman with her white hair and friendly demeanor wasn't so bad but she still scared him while the man with the unemotional tone caused him to want to pee his too big pants.

"Stop being scared, boy. No one is going to harm you," the deep, purring voice of the dark haired man commanded. The boy's wide eyes slowly turned to him and he relaxed slightly as he remembered that voice from the other night. The man's body had kept him warm all through their time hiding. He had been so worried for the man.

"He likes you… I am thoroughly shocked," Computer remarked dryly as the boy darted to his sister's son. He was a quick little lad as he successfully climbed onto the rather tall bed and buried is face into Severus' chest in less than fifteen seconds. Severus winced as a rib loudly protested of the child's weight no matter how light it was.

"Oh, lad, you are hurting my nephew. He's not going anywhere any time soon so why don't you come with me?" the woman said, her accent peeking through a little more as she tried to get the child to let go of the injured man. Each time her hands pulled on the pink haired boy, the tighter his skinny arms wrapped around Severus and the more pain Severus felt.

"Please cease your pulling on the child. It is obvious that he wants to stay. Perhaps, I can convince him to eat some food while I am eating," Severus finally begged as sharp little nails dug into his skin when the woman got one of the boy's arms off of him. Muriel sighed and nodded her head, pulling a fork from her apron so that they may eat from the same plate without any hassle. Severus wondered why the woman kept silverware in her pockets. He glanced at his uncle who simply shook his head and turned to follow his adoptive mother down the stairs.

(**)

He hadn't known where he was when he had awakened. He hadn't even known if he was really awake or if this was just some odd dream that wanted to plague him. The last thing he remembered was waking up to the cold, wet ground as his parents shouted some distance away at each other.

He felt their harsh, fearful words beat into his brain like actual fists and he began to cry, curling into a ball and not even bothering to try to stand and follow them. It hurt him deeper than his soul to know that he was being left in this dirty, wet alleyway with no one and nothing to help.

Then someone was running down the alleyway he mourned in but they didn't see him because they tripped. It wasn't his fault but he didn't want to let this person leave him. Perhaps they could just take him somewhere warm and because of whatever his parents had given him he couldn't really move. He couldn't make out the person but he knew it was a man when the man's strong, thin arms wrapped around him and the velvety voice urged him into silence as true darkness engulfed them.

He had been so scared. He could see… things in the darkness. Things with no eyes and smiling mouths that wanted him to stay with them. Their cooling hands relaxed him and he wanted to go to them but he was scared. It wasn't long before the man had covered his eyes to the beings and the whispers were no longer inviting and the cooling touch was icy.

Sometime while being held to the warm body, he had fallen into a peaceful sleep where his parents hadn't abandoned him and, perhaps, he wasn't hated by all that came around him.

Of course that would be a lie for he came into consciousness to look up at an unfamiliar ceiling that soon disappeared with the face of an older woman, her curly white hair framing her round face. She gave a smile and he sat up quickly, scooting away from her. Who was she? Was she trying to hurt him? Where was the warm man? Where was he?

"Oh dearie, don't move away. I'm not gonna hurt you none," she cooed, reaching forward. He whimpered and rolled off the arm of the couch, landing on his bottom roughly. Quickly the pink haired boy pushed himself up and began to run only to bump head first into a skinny man who glared down at him from under his hat. He let out a whine as he stared at the man. They were silent for a moment before—

"BOO!" the old man shouted, waving his arms. He let out a shriek and immediately ran from the room as fast as he could. He heard the mocking laugh of the old man and then the plump old lady was beating him in the head with a rolling pin that he was absolutely sure he hadn't seen in her hands a second ago. He found himself running into another man only this man was tall like the warm man and his face was completely blank. He stared down at the boy and gently pushed is glasses back on his face, raising a brow at the shaking boy.

"AHHH!" another shriek ripped itself from his throat and he was running again, his tiny heart pounding in his chest as he darted behind the television.

That lead into the man with the glasses trying to convince him to come out though, in his opinion, the man could use a little lesson in coercion because he simply insulted him. They had given up after five minutes and went upstairs. The old man that scared him was nowhere in sight so he forced himself from behind the large box and quietly made his way up the stairs.

Never had he been so happy to see someone as he gazed upon the warm man. He was caught peeking in and he ran to the man as fast as he could after being forced into the room.

After convincing the old woman and the blank man to leave, it was simply the two of them. He was sitting on the other side of the tray now, legs folded and large brown eyes staring at the warm man. He stared back at him, not blinking or twitching.

"What is your name, boy?" the velvet voice came out quietly.

"C-Co-Courage Dogg," he stuttered out. The man's brow rose higher than the white haired man and, if one was liberal with the word, a smile came to his thin lips. He handed Courage the fork to the thin boy.

"Well, Courage Dogg, my name is Severus Snape."

(**)

If Severus had one thing to say about Courage, it was that he was an odd child. It was obvious that he had some kind of magic inside his body due to the natural pink hair. Perhaps he shared the same abilities that Uncle Computer was blessed with. However he was such a skittish little thing, eyes darting around at every noise before he relaxed once again. He seemed to have developed some kind of dependency on Severus for he was always near him.

It had taken some persuasion but he was let out of his bed after a few hours and allowed to walk around the house. The child followed him tentatively, keeping his distance at first but upon seeing Eustace sitting in front of the muggle picture box, he darted to Severus' side and took his hand with a death like grip. Severus frowned and told himself he would later see what the cruel old man had done to the poor child before sweeping into the kitchen to meet with his uncle over a cup of coffee.

"So, silly nephew of mine… what have you done now?"

(**)

The End

So, what do you think? A little OOC, I hope not but I think it is… maybe. I think this is the shortest chapter I have done in all my fan writing life.


	3. Take A Bath

I failed math to tell you the truth. So, when you look at this and try to do the math in your head… don't. Just, spare me the math lesson and enjoy the backstory parts. The year this takes place in is 2000 by the way. Couldn't do the 70s

(**)

Severus sighed as he sunk into the wooden chair, knowing that nothing this simple should feel so great to his exhausted body. It was even better since it had a cushioning charm on it. Severus was in such bliss at the moment that he barely noted the light weight that scrambled onto his lap until a strained laugh left his uncle's mouth. He looked down at the pink haired boy who looked back at him and let out a shaky smile before looking around once more and relaxing. He was a paranoid little thing.

"I once told you that the only child that would love you would come from your loins… unless I am mistaken, I was wrong," Computer admitted calmly which almost caused Severus to smile. His uncle was never wrong and this was the first time that he admitted to being wrong. It was a glorious day except that Severus was exhausted from his travels that went all the way from the attic room his uncle resided in and to the kitchen where the man sat.

"I am… in trouble," Severus phrased delicately. His uncle's face didn't change but he had a feeling that if it had, he would be given the same sneer that Severus had given his classmates when they said something that was either very stupid or glaringly obvious.

"It might have come to your attention that I am not incredibly stupid as you have proven yourself to be on numerous occasions," Computer finally stated dully, "I am also not omniscient so knowing what you are speaking of is out of reach if you do not enlighten me."

Severus had sometimes wondered, when he was on the brink of death via boredom, what it was like to be on the other side of a sharp tongue much like his own. For some reason he never remembered his uncle at those times and now he was being firmly reminded as to why he couldn't stand the metamorphmagus. Only acid could past through those thin lips.

"Uncle, need I bring up the incident in which you decided to 'help' me with my potions during my summer vacation of fourth year? You couldn't change your hair from its upright state for a week," Severus sniped, happily remembering the time in which his potion methods were questioned. Courage let out a tiny giggle though it ended in a squeak as a pale eyebrow was raised in his direction. It was silent for a moment before Severus felt he was ready to speak once again.

"I became a Death Eater for reasons that are too foolish and embarrassing to speak of. As soon as I saw the wrong in my actions I became a spy for the Order. Dumbledore has saved thousands with my information and I had won myself into the graces of the Dark Lord by giving bits and pieces of what the old man was doing. However…" Severus trailed off and let out a sigh.

"You were revealed as a traitor, were you not?" Computer finished. He watched as his nephew nodded, face darkened with shame. The man let out a sigh and ran a hand through his silky white hair, changing it blue as he allowed his mind to wander to places it probably shouldn't have. He had told Muriel and he had warned Eileen that Severus going to Hogwarts was a mistake. He could teach the child everything that would be desired what with his perfect memory and the many magical books they had owned. Eileen had insisted that since she had gone to Hogwarts and Muriel had done the same then Severus should have been allowed the same opportunity. Computer cursed mentally at their foolishness and looked back at his nephew.

His hair was greasy, hanging in tendrils in his pale face. His dark eyes held the horrors he probably experienced in his short, not yet twenty years. He had lost a significant amount of weight, probably matching the pink haired boy he was holding in heaviness. The shoulders slumped in shame, guilt, and chagrin that were almost tangible in the hot kitchen.

His nephew was not the same fiery boy that left Nowhere that first day of school or even the slightly tired and bruised one that would come back during Christmas and Summer vacation. His was a hollow husk slowly filling with self-misery.

"Severus, do not wallow in your self-pity. Tell me the rest—why were there demonic claw marks in your back?" Computer finally demanded, snapping his nephew into a straighter stance.

"A witch doctor, Shanzi was summoned to hunt me down. Regulus, another that was suspected as a spy, is being chased by a half-demon. I knew that there were natural wards in the Middle of Nowhere so I came for a few days of rest before I continued to avoid the witch doctor. If the wards were not here, I would have stayed far away from the States," Severus said firmly. There was not a chance in Hell that he would have allowed his family to be put in danger even though no one thought he had any after his mother died.

"This Dark Lord did not kill you because he was not positive that you and this Regulus were spies?" Computer inquired.

"I believe that is correct. He is not completely insane or bloodthirsty. There are times in which he is merciful, this being one of them. However, I suspect that he does not believe the witch doctor and half-breed shall fail in our deaths," Severus stated. Computer nodded sharply at his nephew's words.

"The wards will keep her unaware for only so long so I suggest a better battle plan is put together by you," Computer warned as he stood up and left the kitchen. Severus did not take the words to heart for his uncle was simply telling the truth and Severus just wasn't sensitive enough to be offended. He sat back in his chair, shifting Courage into a better, non-injured part of his body and began to think.

He couldn't stay with his grandmother for long. He doubted it would be a week until Shanzi found his location. He couldn't put his grandmother in danger so staying was out of the question. The young potions master allowed his head to drop backwards and he directed his attention to the ceiling.

"Take a bath," a voice suddenly commanded. Severus turned his head and looked at his grandfather, Eustace Bagges. If Severus had served any longer in the wizarding war and saw his friends and the people he cared for die then he could imagine himself being just as Eustace was.

The man was bitter, mean, and practically a bully that served in three vicious wars starting on his twentieth birthday and ending when he had hit forty. He hadn't met his daughter until she was five and had millions of questions for him. He missed large chunks of her life as another war came around the bend and then another.

By the time he was forty, Eustace was tired of death and he was tired of sacrificing what little life he had left with his daughter and wife. He no longer wanted to serve his country so the two times decorated soldier withdrew from the one war his country would lose and find that he had missed much of his daughter's life.

Now at sixty nine Eustace was bitter and angry from the deaths he witnessed and his daughter's life that he hadn't. By the time he found out he was a grandfather, his daughter was already being beaten by her alcoholic of a husband. Eileen had found love in London but Tobias was not a nice man. Of course the family hadn't known until she was dead at the age of thirty.

Severus knew that his grandfather had suffered a lot in his life and was bitter because of it so he didn't allow the man's nasty behavior effect him enough that he'd hex the old man. Severus glanced down at Courage as he felt the boy's hand grip his shirt tighter than strictly necessary. To his surprise, the boy was drained of all color. The pink hair, dark eyes, and healthy peach skin were now all stark white as he stared at the old man, fear written on his young face. Severus reconsidered hexing the old man.

"Another magic freak in my house and you both stink!" Eustace grumbled, glaring at them behind his bifocals. Suddenly Muriel was behind the skinny man and her heavy hand slammed into the back of his head with a vengeance. The decorated war hero from long ago let out a yelp of pain and his face morphed into pained confusion.

"Don't call us freaks! We are nice people, we are. And magic has saved you more than once and made it so you can live longer!" Muriel scolded, shaking a chubby finger at the old man. Eustace grunted and rubbed at his aching head and for a moment Severus actually felt sorry for him until he remembered what a mean bastard he was as he continued to whisper things under his breath.

"My own grandson smells like those damn protesting hippies," he grumbled as he got out the pitcher of lemonade that Muriel had made. The old woman glared at him once more before smiling at the two, Courage still lacking very much color.

"I've got the tub ready for you two so both of you—hop on in but be careful dearie. I don't want you to bleed out. Young boy, you call me if anything goes wrong in that tub," Muriel said the last part to Courage. The peach haired youth slowly nodded and offered a shaky smile.

"I have been chased by a witch doctor for the last two days and my back was torn apart by a demon hyena and I believe my ribs are broken… I'm not _hopping_ in anything," Severus grumbled, standing up and forcing the boy on his own two feet. He walked to the bathroom carefully, panting every once and awhile before arriving at the tub. It was filled gloriously with hot water, the cleaning items in easy reach however the bubbles that sat atop of the beautiful water caused Severus to look down at the young boy who was standing beside him. The large, dark eyes looked up at him, dirty pink hair falling backwards.

"… Bath?" he smiled shakily. It was almost as if he expected Severus to kick him in the stomach and tell him that he wasn't allowed to be clean.

"My grandmother has decided that we are to bathe together so it shall be as she commands," Severus sighed tiredly, pulling his shirt from over his head. The child let out a little cheering sound before quickly stripping from his too large clothes. Before Severus had gathered enough energy to take off his socks, the boy was in the hot bath and letting out happy sighs. Severus shook his head and joined the child, letting out the same sounds.

"… Thank you Severus," Courage suddenly whispered, pulling his knees under his chin. The pale man looked at him and raised a brow.

"Many people often believed that I am a heartless, sadistic bastard. I am. However, the last thing I would do is deny a child a bath," Severus rumbled, bringing a rag across his arms and chest as fast as he could. Courage gingerly took a new, offered wash rag from the pale man and began to wash his own body.

"You're not heartless… you saved me," Courage pointed out.

"Obligatorily. You caused me to trip. Now, I want you to honestly answer me, child. What were you doing in that alleyway?" Severus inquired, trying to look as focus as he could even though he felt lightheaded. He shifted a little further down in the tub, relaxing in its warm grasp.

"I'm… bad luck. Very, very bad luck. I make bad things happen and they say I'm demon," Courage whispered more to the tub then the man sitting across from him. He waited for the yelling and the hitting that was sure to start, probably even some religious words of prayer however he heard nothing. Courage smiled down at the bubbles as Severus said nothing demeaning or harsh. He simply sat quiet. Courage was going to say something to the man—later he would not be able to tell anyone what he was going to say—only he noticed something odd about the water. It was pink. Courage frowned and looked to Severus.

(**)

"MURIEL!"

Muriel jumped, her teacup crashing to the floor as her name was shouted in a blood chilling tone. Eustace jerked awake and looked around wildly, utterly confused as to what awakened him. Computer came running from the kitchen, eyes looking over the two older people first than darting to the stairs. There was a series of wet thuds and the sound of skin smacking into the walls before a soaking wet, shivering Courage came dashing the stairs, nearly falling several times. He rushed to Muriel, words slamming together and hair flashing colors in a kind of panic that none of the older people had seen.

"Ao abu chkan!" It was complete gibberish and almost hurt Computer to simply hear him.

"We cannot understand you, twit!" Computer snapped, plucking the child on the back of his head. Courage continued to try to communicate with his nonsense before turning to the wall. He lifted his hands, creating shadows enough to depict a person in the tub only this person sunk below. It was amazing how he morphed his hands into such pictures but that wasn't important. A message was in those shadows.

"I don't understand," Muriel, in her old age blinked. It was a message that Muriel didn't receive. Computer sighed and grabbed the child by the hand before walking up the stairs in a very swift manner. He walked into the bathroom, careful to not slip and pulled his nephew from below the water and into his arms. Honestly, one would not assume that this was the weight of a man but of a child or young woman. His face registered panic for a brief moment as he realized that the man wasn't breathing.

(**)

"He… okay?" Courage forced out of his chattering teeth, holding himself. He had finally controlled his tongue enough for normal words to slip out his lips instead of the vowels and constantans that kept coming out. Computer ran a hand through his light blue hair, turning it white as he stood up and turned away from his sleeping nephew. He had been scared (though he'd never show it) that the boy had drowned—he had been scared that he was losing another family member but Severus would be fine.

"Yes, he was not under the water long but his wounds reopened. Now, try not to be a twit and do not aggravate them more. Also, dry off!" he ordered, throwing a towel at the pink haired boy. Courage caught it with the ease of someone that was used to having things thrown at them. He bit into his lip, still worrying for the man. He quickly did as command, pulling the large shirt that was also thrown at him over his head. He looked at Severus longingly, really wanting to be on the bed also.

"… Oh, just cuddle with him already!" Computer snapped after watching the boy looking back between him and Severus. Courage jumped and immediately rushed over to the black haired man, curling under the covers, away from sight and tucked at the man's warm side. Computer shook his head and left the room.

(**)

The End

I did not like this chapter as much as the second one but, I'll get better. Now we have most of the pieces as to how Sev ended up in Hogwarts. That's more of a later thing but I'm trying to figure out if I want to kill off anyone… or if I want couples (hadn't really thought of those).

Any suggestions?


	4. Hate Magic

Okay, so this chapter is full of cheese. And we're finally going to HP realm! Boo-yah! Usually I stay in the crossovers universe but no, we're all HP here.

Also, I have no idea where I'm going with all of this. I mean, like… honestly… no idea. Then again, that's how every one of my stories happen. I never know the middle parts, just the beginning and the end.

(**)

It hadn't taken long to get back on his feet. His grandmother was a miracle with medical magic though her mind sometimes drifted off and she wasn't as aware as she once was. Computer had told him that she was getting a little more absentminded every year. Severus looked up at the cloudless sky and wiped a hand through his hair. Somehow, in the middle of winter, it still managed to be warm in Nowhere.

"Russ… you okay?" Courage stepped behind him. Severus looked back at the boy and nodded in assurance. The past few days had gotten Courage to loosen up slightly so that he stopped clinging to him. Even though he did not cling, Courage was often… checking up on him, appearing where he was and peeking in or actually talking to the Potions Master whenever he worked up the nerve.

Severus noticed that Courage often sat on the porch and looked out at the vast land and he was sure that he had watched the child purposely change his hair color though when he did that, Severus could almost feel the torment coming from the lad. Severus was not one to pity anyone but the almost giddy way he called him by that dreadful nickname after obviously been so sad caused him to dim his glare until it couldn't even startle a baby.

"Yes, now give these eggs to Muriel and stop behaving like a Mother Hen. I will not fall off the face of the Earth," Severus grumbled, shoving the basket into the child's hands. Courage smiled at him any way and almost bounced back in the house.

Severus couldn't believe that he was actually enjoying being back on the nearly deserted farm—collecting eggs and milking the cow though Severus hadn't seen the old beast since he been outside. It was something that he didn't allow other kids to know after mistakenly telling Lily and Petunia where he was from. It hadn't taken Petunia more than fifteen minutes to start in with the dirty farm boy heckles.

God, Severus hated that horse faced wench. He looked around the vast, cracked land and slowly made his way to the barn, pushing open the doors and looking around the shadowed place. It seemed that he hadn't forgotten how to climb as he made quick work of gaining a seat up in the rafters on the sturdy wooden beams.

The Potions Master let out a sigh and thought back on his plans. He would leave tomorrow at dawn, which was for sure. He could not risk another day there with his grandparents and uncle. He was already there for three days and the Order needed the news.

Due to the wards, owls could not go in or out—it was almost as if they did not exist in the scheme of things. Severus usually talked to his grandmother through a magical mirror at least once a week though he hid it thoroughly so she would never be known.

The only real problem Severus was faced with was the boy. Courage was a skittish little boy and seemed to like him enough to not flinch whenever he touched him or spoke. In short, the boy would be heartbroken if he left him here.

A part of him that still understood human emotion wanted so desperately to not abandon the child with strangers for that was exactly how Courage's young mind would see it—as abandonment. On the other hand, it would be safer for the child to never be seen with him again. Muriel dotted on him and Computer didn't hate him. Of course there was Eustace but Muriel would keep him in line.

"What are you doing up there?" a voice demanded.

"If you think of the devil he shall appear," Severus muttered under his breath as he heard his grandfather's voice. He fell backwards, using his legs to still stay on the rafter though he was looking at the man upside down. He smiled wicked at the glaring old man and threw open his arms.

"I am being a loon, dear grandfather Eustace."

"I knew I never liked you," Eustace muttered under his breath as he walked further into the barn.

"You decked my father in the face for me," Severus pointed out, raising a brow. He remembered as if it were yesterday—his father being punched to the ground by his grandfather then beaten down with hexes from his grandmother. He had never been so happy in all of his twelve years of life.

"You were covered in bruises when we found you," Eustace grumbled, sitting down on a rickety chair. Severus allowed himself to feel like a young boy, moving his head slightly so the long strands would shift side to side. He loved being upside down for some odd reason, probably having something to do with his dismount.

"I am sure he had more when you and Muriel stopped beating him," Severus said lightly. The man grumbled under his breath for a moment more and folded his thin arms over his chest. Severus smirked at the old man, not minding his tough exterior and cruel interior. It was obvious that Muriel had probably sent him out here for some reason or another but that didn't mean he would make it easy for the bitter man. With a slight smile, he unhooked his legs and allowed gravity to do its work though some magic helped him not break both his ankles once he landed.

"Hate magic," Eustace groused and stood up, dusting his overalls with one hand and starting on the way out.

"I'm sure it does not find your company to be enjoyable either," Severus commented, walking alongside his grandfather. They fell into an agreeable silence on their way to the old house, ignoring the sun high over their heads.

(**)

He hadn't left.

Severus felt like a coward for he was still in his grandmother's home. He hadn't left in the dawn—it was near afternoon and he was still on her property. He could not deny that his grandmother's home was safe and he was with family. He had missed the warmth that he couldn't find in his home under his father's hand and the warmth that Hogwarts' staff and students deemed him unworthy to have. Even his Uncle who was the most taciturn man in the world gave him the kind of love that every being yearned for.

"You are not a coward," a firm voice stated behind him. Severus turned on the wide beam, looking back at his uncle. He wiped away the traces of tears that had started breaking free and twisted around until he faced the man though he refused to climb from the wooden beam.

"I was meant to leave at dawn, today is the fourth day. Every hour I sit here, I face bringing untold evils upon your heads. I also face the Order being betrayed by the spy they think they still have," Severus murmured softly. Computer sighed loudly and shook his head sharply at his idiot nephew.

"Severus, you are in a place where you feel the safest. Only a bigger nitwit than you would not want to stay. That or those dreadful Gryffindors I have heard so much about," Computer stated, propping his body against a beam. Severus bit into his lip, feeling a small grin come to his lips but he didn't want to smile. There was nothing joyous about this occasion. Well there was the fact that his uncle was actually trying to cheer him up although he still managed to insult his intelligence somewhere along the line.

"I will leave during dawn… I swear to it," Severus said firmly.

"What of the boy?" Computer questioned. Severus looked out of the barn's open doors and to the small house that sat not a hundred yards away. To bring the child with him would be foolish and selfish. With that final thought, Severus flipped heavily from the wooden beam and landed in front of his uncle lightly.

"He will stay here, out of harms' way," he answered with a note of finality.

(**)

Severus cursed under his breath as he clutched at the thin body, holding it as close as his wounds would allow. He could not believe that he had been so stupid and careless! Severus looked down at the young boy, managing to run for quite some time without looking up. The boy's face was lax at the moment, eyelids fluttering every now and then as his body fought against the slumber spell. The black hair he had adopted was pushed away from his forehead and face, hanging over Severus' bleeding arm like an ineffective bandage. He adjusted the blanket a bit to cover Courage more effectively.

"Don't wake up," Severus whispered to the boy, ducking around a corner and pressing his body flat into the brick wall. He had to think. He just needed one moment to think on what to do and send every prayer to each God that his grandmother was alright and the witch doctor was still on his tail.

(*Two Hours Earlier*)

"Severus, you know that you are welcome to stay," Muriel offered. Severus stabbed into what could possibly be his last warm meal for weeks to come and shook his head. He didn't want to think of the hardship that would rain down on his head in the upcoming weeks. He definitely didn't want to think of going back to the Order and revealing that it was he, Severus Snape, that was the spy for them and there was someone that was a traitor among them. He could already hear the drivel that would be spat at him.

"I must leave, grandmother. I do not want to witness any of you hurt—that's the last thing on my to-do list. However, I will be back. When the war is over and I am my own free man, I'll come back," he promised, reaching over and grabbing the warm, chubby hand. Muriel smiled while Computer muttered something about sappy nitwits.

"Russ… I go with you… right?" Courage's big onyx eyes were blinking up at him. It was what the Potions Master feared, the child wanting to come with him. He let out a heavy sigh and shook his head slowly.

"It's too dangerous. You must stay here Courage," he responded. The boy's face fell with hurt, disappointment pouring from his tiny body. Severus hardened his heart against the sight. It was for the greater good.

(**)

"Yeah, greater good my arse," Severus huffed, dashing back into the open as a small window of opportunity presented itself. That small window of opportunity, the one that would stop him and Courage Dogg from being mauled just so happened to be a very busy street filled with trucks, vans, cars, and various other things that could and probably will break most of his bones.

It was too late to turn back and much too dangerous to even consider such an action so he kept his eyes open and his feet swift, praying that these people did not ruin his plan by trying to save his life. The first blaring horn nearly deafened him but he kept going, jumping high to slide across another car that had skidded to a stop. A high pitched yelp, most likely from his pursuers caught his attention. At least the feral beast was hurt.

Bright lights nearly blinded him as another car stopped and his thigh hit it roughly, nearly causing him to trip but somehow he managed to keep his balance and rush to the other side of the street. Severus didn't pause to catch his breath and celebrate his abundance of heartbeats. He had to keep going. He couldn't stop until it was dawn and even then… he had to keep going.

(*One hour earlier*)

"I don't want to stay, want to go with you, Russ," Courage whimpered on the bed. He sat on the edge, hunched a bit as he watched Severus pace around the room. He had tossed a blanket over his head due to the chill that had gotten into the room.

Severus had come up to the attic after dinner and packed a few clothes that had been stored here and grabbed a small wooden box that tinkled lightly with ear jarring movement.

"It is not safe to be with me, boy. Besides it would not be any different, you have known me the same amount of days that you have known my grandparents and uncle," Severus said a bit harshly. Courage whimpered and curled into himself a little more, his pink hair slipping over his eyes and the blanket covering a bit more of his body.

He didn't know how to explain to Severus that he loved him and he was scared when he wasn't around. It was foolish to love someone that he had just met but it was true—Severus saved him and he loved him for it. He never wanted to leave the man's side.

"But—," Courage started but was stopped by a loud shriek of horror. The black haired man was immediately down the stairs, pounding the wood harshly with his bag hitting his hip just as hard and his wand in front of him.

His dark eyes widened significantly as he saw the absolutely destroyed door and the snarling beast that stood there. It did not seem to be able to get too much in the house what with the wards protecting the inhabitants but it seemed to be pushing against it as hard as it could.

Computer and Eustace had backed into a corner, the younger man having drawn his wand but he seemed to be observing the beasts. Muriel was nowhere in sight and true fear coursed through Severus' veins for the health of his grandmother.

"Silver Mist!" Computer suddenly shouted, waving his wand over the head of the beast. Their howls of pain echoed in Severus' ears and caused Courage to whimper and crouched behind him. He grabbed the child's hand and dragged him past the beasts and to the kitchen, not able to get to the front door. He heard Eustace cursing behind them along with Computer's insults pushing the old man along.

"Muriel!" Severus shouted as he forced his body into a halt. There was the beast, biting into his grandmother's arm and already her eyes were turning colors and she was quivering all over. Dammit, the were-badger had infected his grandmother! It had to be killed if she had a hope in Hell to ever be normal again. That's how were-badgers were. They were weaker than werewolves but almost more in sync with their fledglings than vampires. To take away the infection of a bitten then one must kill the infector.

Before he could get to it, it ran out into the night and _disappeared_.

"It's that witch doctor—you have to find that badger and kill it to help Muriel. I can't leave because I'm the only thing holding the bad from becoming worse," Computer hissed, throwing a spell at his adopted mother with a quick flick from his wand. She flew several feet back and was pinned to the wall. Severus dashed out of the door, eyes focusing on the shadows that seemed to twist and bend before his very eyes.

"You have strong protection over home, very strong."

Severus glared at the woman standing a distance away. She leaned against her staff nonchalantly, her fingers flipping her dagger aimlessly. A smile came to her face as she looked over at him, her soulless eyes as wide and bleak as ever.

"I could only come here as spirit. A very weak spirit at first but I made a gap big enough to walk through," Shanzi said.

"Where is the were-badger that attacked my grandmother, woman?" he hissed. He did not care that he was in danger. Only thing that mattered was his grandmother and the howl that came from the house was not a good sign.

"He is here, in the shadows," Shanzi nodded. Severus gasped as the beast suddenly jumped out of the shadows, teeth bared. He came lumbering towards him, saliva dripping from his mouth and red eyes looking impossibly evil.

He could almost feel the dirty claws digging into his back, trying to sever his spine and put all of the fight so that it could feast comfortably on his flesh. Severus could almost smell the rotting floorboards and see the dust jumping from the wooden floor as the boy withered on the ground so that his body could morph into the large monster that would—

Severus ducked down, hands flying into his satchel as the beast lumbered over him and rolled on the ground, kicking up a dust. This was not the Shrieking Shack and he was no longer a fourteen year old boy that froze up at the first sign of danger. He had to kill this beast if he wanted to save his grandmother.

The lid on his box flew off, hitting the other contents but he couldn't care. His shaking fingers grazed across the lifted dots on each vial before he found the right one. The beast made its way to his sharp paws and started to dart towards him once again, anger appearing in the wild animalistic eyes.

"Here boy," he hissed, eyes following the jagged path the monster caused. Just as it was close enough to leap at him, claws extended once more he flicked off the cork with a practiced nail and threw the contents right down the beast's throat. It fell to the ground, the agonized howl becoming choked in its throat as its body shook and twisted. It began to shrink and rot at the same time, a whimper the last noise it made.

Severus turned away from the horrible scene and to the witch doctor who was smiling too hard for someone that just failed. She released her staff to give him a mocking applause.

"You are very strong, very smart Englishman. You would make good partner in fight so I shall not kill you right now. Instead I will take you away with me until your time is up then you may die a very… honorable. Now… you must sleep," Shanzi grabbed her staff and stabbed it into the ground. Her lips moved swiftly and suddenly a wave of magic crashed towards him.

"NO, RUSS!"

(**)

"You had to jump in front of that spell… didn't you?" Severus murmured as he leaned against the dirty wall. He looked down at the shifting boy who was slowly blinking his dark eyes open. Severus used one shaking arm to brush through the black hair.

"Russ, you… I smell blood," Courage's brows drew together, confusion coming to his young face. Severus let out a small chuckle and slid down the wall, allowing Courage to stand on his own so that he could sit. Courage fell to his knees by the man, looking over him desperately.

"The bitch… she cut me with a poisoned dagger," Severus whispered, sweat dripping down his forehead. His head rolled around on the dirty wall and his eyes rolled in and out of focus several times. He licked his lips, trying to bring moisture to his lip although his mouth was dry.

"Russ, what do I do?" Courage moaned, pulling at his hair, bouncing on his toes as panic started to seep into his being. Severus' chest was beginning to rise and fall faster. He moved his lips several times, trying to tell Courage something. The boy leaned forward, pressing his ear to the pale, trembling lips.

"O-o-order will h-help. H-house i-i-is 12 Grimmauld."

Then the dark eyes rolled into the back of the man's skull and he went limp.

(**)

The End

I am actually proud of this chapter. It took forever but I hope that you liked it. What will happen the next chapter?


	5. Speak of the Devil

I need a damn plot bunny bite or something. LONGEST CHAPTER!

Any couples, anyone?

(**)

Courage swayed a bit on his feet, shaking his head as he became dizzy. The 'spell' that the evil lady attacking Severus made him feel woozy and encouraged him back into the dream realm but he didn't want to sleep. He wanted to get Russ some help. The man was sick, unconscious in this dirty, snow sprinkled alleyway and Courage had to get him to this place.

The black haired boy licked his lips and slowly made his way to the lip of the alley, looking out and was nearly swept off his feet by the bright sun shining all over the sparkling white snow and the people bustling back and forth.

In the alley, he was sure that it was either night or very early morning but this begged to differ. Courage looked at the people, he could ask one of them where Grimmauld was—they were bound to know and, if he knew Russ then they were close. All he had to do was reach forward and grab onto one of their coats or simply make his voice known. Because his hair was black at the moment, none of them would think of him as a freak or a demon so they'd help.

The only thing Courage had to do to get help was ask…

"Are you lost little boy?" a voice cooed. Courage froze and looked up at the woman, eyes widening as he stared at her. She was average height with a rather pixie, kind face, her auburn hair drawn up in a loose ponytail. She wore a long, gray trench coat and her pretty brown eyes blinked down at him while a patient smile formed on her face.

She was frightening. He didn't know who she was but this stranger was scaring him to the point that he was shaking. Courage felt tears come to his eyes and he shrunk away as the woman reached for him, edging back to the alleyway. He wanted his Russ, he didn't want this odd woman who was still talking to him though now she had a frown on her face.

"I won't hurt you, boy. My name is Alice Longbottom—I'm going to have a son, you know," she said gently, her dainty hand drifting to her belly. It was then that Courage noticed that the woman's stomach was round, her coat straining against the ball like stomach. This caused Courage to stop shaking just a bit. If she was pregnant then that meant she wouldn't want to hurt him because he could accidentally hit her in the stomach in the struggle. Then there was the fact that she wasn't American. Her accent wasn't one he recognized as anyone other than Severus and perhaps a small bit like Muriel.

"I'm stuck between Alexander and Neville. Do you have a name?" Alice continued as she got onto her knees as effortlessly as possible with a large stomach throwing off her balance. People circled around her, throwing a few irritated or curious looks their way but continuing their journey to their homes, jobs, or errands.

"I…" Courage opened his mouth to speak even though his heart was beating painfully fast in his poor little chest. He licked his lips and tried to pull the words from his lips and hopefully be helped but he just couldn't. He was so scared of this woman even though he knew that she probably wouldn't hurt him—

"Oh my!" the woman gasped, her eyes widening at him. Courage tilted his head curiously then he saw the white locks that now adorned his head. He let out a tiny yelp and quickly went back to being a black haired child but it was too late.

The wide brown eyes were now shocked and he knew that soon she'd be screaming and running away as fast as she could manage. She would call for help and they would think that he attacked the defenseless pregnant woman and then they'd hurt him. They would throw bottles at him and shout hurtful words. Some may pull out other weapons.

Courage turned tail and rushed back into the alleyway. He needed to be away from the woman when help came for her. He dashed to Severus and launched himself at the deathly silent man. The young boy let out a loud moan and pulled at the man's thin shoulders.

"Russ we have to go!" he shouted, not willing to simply run for his life and leave his Russ there to be harmed. The man's head lolled on his head with the force of Courage's shakes before cracking into the wall harshly when the boy released him. Courage let out a short wail as he released that he hurt the man and brought his hands to the stringy hair and winced at the lump that now adorned the pale scalp.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he whimpered and laid his head on the thin but warm chest. He snuggled in as deep as he could, wrapping his arms around the man as tight as possible. He could feel Severus' heart; it was beating a bit slower than he thought it should. He knew that they would probably not be found and soon his Russ would be dead and he'd be alone in the world, a demon wandering around until it was killed.

"C-C-Courage, neck-neck-necklace," Severus panted, sweat dripping down his foreheads and his body shaking with the effort to speak. Courage felt his ears twitch as he heard the pain filled words and then the sound of hesitant shoes.

"Hello?" Alice's voice echoed in the alley. Courage jumped and began to look along Severus' neck for the necklace he spoke of. At the end of it was a small charm with tiny words on them. He squinted at the words and hesitantly began to read them with the limited light that he had.

"Into the jaws of Death…

Into the mouth of Hell

Ro-rode the six… six hundred."

Courage frowned, not sure what this had to do with anything. As the last word left his lips, the necklace began to glow brightly. It absolutely drenched Severus and Courage and then the black haired boy felt a pull at his navel and the feeling of spinning uncontrollably. He let out a cry of panic and latched onto Russ, tears prickling at the back of his eyes and darkness closing in on him.

He did something wrong. He killed them. He hurt Russ. This was all wrong. He was wrong. He couldn't help. He only destroyed. He was a monster. He was a demon that no one loved. No one…

(**)

"Would you please stop talking about Snivellus for just one second?" Sirius groaned as he leaned against a counter. He had invited James and Lily to stay at him home for the duration of their home being renovated. Apparently he wasn't clumsy pregnant woman ready. However, ever since they started staying there and Dumbledore started to become just the tiniest bit worried about their mysterious spy not showing his clothed face for about a week now, Lily started sighing and complaining about her disconnection with the slimy Slytherin.

"Don't call him that, Black. _Severus _was a nice person and I miss his friendship," Lily glared at him, her green eyes flashing. James sputtered around his morning tea, which had been substituted for coffee after Lily complained for the thousandth time that she couldn't have caffeine so he was willing to sacrifice for his loving wife.

"Wait, are we talking about the same greasy haired, hawk nose, hexing spitting Snape!?" James gawked at the woman that dared called that potions freak 'nice'.

"He hexed Peter paralyzed one time!" Sirius protested.

"Peter dumped a bucket of water on his head," Lily defended her friend.

"Don't forget that time he poisoned me and Sirius blind," James added.

"Maybe you won't showcase others underwear next time," Lily sniffed, taking a sip of her orange juice. They both sputtered indignantly and waved their arms around.

"What about that time when he stabbed me with a silver dagger in our second year?" Remus came into the room, having heard their conversation on his way down for breakfast. The werewolf smiled gently at them all though James and Sirius were looking triumphant as their point had been proven now. Remus had not done anything to the slimy git so that dagger incident was a completely pointless attack on the poor Gryffindor. All three men looked to Lily but she was looking just as victorious as a smile erupted over her face.

"Ha! That incident proves that Severus was nice. He confided in me that he had been aiming at Sirius after Sirius stole his wand and all he had left were his daggers that he collected since he was six—if you hadn't grabbed at the chocolate cake at that moment, it would never have hit you," Lily nodded.

"How does that prove that he's nice," Remus raised a brow, taking several pancakes from the huge stack on the counter. He remained standing as his comrades did but he was actually interested in this conversation though Sirius would later realize that he got sucked into a conversation about the potions freak.

"Well, he convinced me to help him sneak into the Hospital Wing. He purified the wound with some of his potions and patched you up. He didn't do it because he felt guilty. He was just in one of his generous moods."

Sirius opened his mouth to point out something else but he was cut off as a figure swathed in black suddenly came crashing down on the kitchen table which was, luckily, not holding any food. Their wands were all out while James put himself directly in front of his wife to protect her though he ignored the glare she sent his way.

"Severus?" Lily exclaimed as she caught a look of the man sprawled across the table. She attempted to get around James but he blocked her sufficiently enough.

"Speak of the devil…" Remus whispered as he looked at the uncovered face and the sweat soaked hair. The man absolutely reeked of poison and approaching death, causing the werewolf to cover his nose. The scent of blood also wafted around the kitchen.

"And he shall appear," James muttered, looking over Snape. Sirius was going through a range of emotions though he stopped completely on shock as he looked at the _child _holding onto Snivellus. He was a child that had pitch black hair in the same shade as the man he clung to and his pale face was pinched with discomfort and fear.

His eyes were squeezed close but he was awake seeing as how he flinched as he heard their voices. The child opened his eyes and they viewed the pitch black eyes that were starting to drip large tears while whimpers clawed at the child's throat. Sirius felt as though he would faint—Snivellus had a son and they were both on his kitchen table. What the Hell was going on?

"Please… _please_ help?" the boy rasped before promptly fainting.

(**)

"Okay, okay… what do we do?" Sirius muttered as he paced back and forth in front of the two bodies that adorned his kitchen. It wasn't fair that this was happening to him. Snivellus always had a way of ruining whatever day he happened to appear on. It was jump natural for the little bastard.

"Snivellus has a son. Oh shit, Snivellus got a kid!" Sirius continued to mutter even though the only one in the room that was conscious was James seeing as how Remus when to get some basic potions to help the freak while Lily went to call Dumbledore.

"I wonder what the bastard did to get this beat up," James observed the bruises on the man's face and the blood dripping from his shoulder, arm and—

"Dark Mark—he's got the fucking DARK MARK!" James shouted, jumping back an entire feet while holding his wand out. Unconsciously he grabbed the child too, holding the boy in his arms and away from the slimy Death Eater who was currently dripping his disgusting blood on the wooden table. Sirius' mouth twisted in a hateful sneer and he immediately levitated the Slytherin from the table and carelessly dropped him onto the floor in a silent heap.

"This table is gonna have to be burned," Sirius sighed even as he banished the blood. James' mouth was hanging wide open as he looked to the tangled man and to his friend. He moved his lips several times. Sirius noticed his struggle and shrugged, "Snivellus doesn't lose points for being a dirty Slytherin but I'll be damned if some disgusting Death Eater lays on my table and bleeds all over it. I'm trying to decide how to get him out of the window without Lily noticing."

"Ms. Evans will surely know and so would I," Albus' hard voice drafted into the room. The two Gryffindors jumped, James shifting the child into a more comfortable position while facing his wife and his former Headmaster and present leader. The urge to fidget as if he were sitting in the Headmaster's chair came hard to James' mind but he couldn't with a kid in his arms.

"Uh…" James stuttered, trying to plead his innocence as the old man swept towards the crumbled Slytherin and Lily came stomping over to them. Unconsciously he held Snape's son higher up as a shield against his very angry wife who would have hexed him ten ways to Sunday if the child wasn't protecting him.

"Don't you say anything to me, James Potter and you should be ashamed of yourself Sirius Black," Lily hissed, throwing another glare before whirling around and going over to her former friend, kneeling by him. James felt a bit of guilt nibble at his toes even though he hadn't done anything. Sirius simply scoffed under his breath. James knew that his friend wasn't a bad guy; he and Snape just had a lot of history so it was hard for the Gryffindor to put such thoughts from his head and the fact that the Slytherin was a Dark Wizard didn't help either.

"What's so important by that slimy Death Eater, anyway?" Sirius huffed, folding his arms over his chest as he watched the Headmaster levitate the wizard out of the kitchen and presumably to bleed out on Sirius' couches which was not any better than the original placement.

"We will talk about your treatment of our spy in a moment, after I am sure that he will make it to the next morning. I suggest you come up with a good reason as to why you would dump a dying human being on the dirty floor," Albus stated then left. James nearly dropped the boy he was holding as he glanced at his best friend.

Had they heard Albus correctly? Severus Snivellus Snape was their spy? The freak that couldn't hold a friendly conversation for longer than a few minutes was the reason that they had any information on Death Eater movements?

(**)

Fire. Fire, fire! Severus was on fire. His entire body was on fire. He couldn't move or shift away from the fire though he could tell that there were others around him. He could hear them, feel their presence but he didn't know who they were. The last thing he remembered was telling Courage the address to the Order but what was the child to do? There wasn't a way in Hell that he had met a nice muggle that would help an odd child and a sick man that was probably contagious. There was even less of a chance that Courage ran into an Order member.

He hoped the child was safe. It was the only thought that kept the fire from burning away his very soul and melting his flesh until it was nothing but a charred mass of flesh. He could still feel the flames licking at his skin, trying to sink deep inside but he fought against it. Courage needed him.

"Severus… hear… can you…?"

Severus panted as the words played through his ears but he couldn't hear each word. Suddenly there was a bright light shining in his eyes and cold ice dripping between his lips and down his throat. Severus gasped and arched into the cooling ice that was now falling all around his body and soothing the fires. Several gasps escaped his mouth and he yearned for more of the ice, mumbling his pleas to whoever was helping him.

"Severus, can you hear me?"

Severus blinked away the blurring tears and sweat to see Albus Dumbledore. He frowned and reached up, flinching as a blinding pain erupted in his arm. He looked over to see a large, open laceration on his lower arm that was dripping with the water he was submerged in. He was in a tub with nothing but his underwear on.

"I… Albus?" Severus licked his lips, brows coming together as he saw Lily Evans (or was she a Potter now?), Lupin, and Styx. The old man placed a hand on his head and directed his gaze back to the twinkling blue eyes and relieved smile.

"Severus, my boy, what has happened? How have you gained these wounds?" Albus inquired, his wizened hands cupping his cheeks and holding his attention. Severus looked at him with glazed, half lidded eyes and frowned once again. He didn't know what this man was talking about. He just wanted…

"Courage? Where is he? Courage!" Severus sat up in the tub, splashing the potion that was healing him by the second out of the tub and on the floor. He jerked away from the comforting hands and looked around, not spotting the pink haired boy.

What if someone got him? What if some rapist, kidnapper, killer attacked the poor boy because he was incapable of protecting the child? Severus couldn't breathe now. He couldn't breathe.

"He's hyperventilating, move away Albus so I can help," Styx pushed at Albus and forced him out of the bathroom completely, pulling out her wand and several potions. Severus fought the hands trying to force them away so that he could find Courage. He needed to find the boy and protect him before someone hurt him. It didn't matter if he couldn't breathe!

"Severus, if you tell me who Courage is, we can get him—but you need to lay back and breathe. Let the potion to take out these poisons and purify these claw marks," Styx clutched at his hands and forced them to his sides. Severus withered against her hands even though he felt so weak and lightheaded. His heart was pounding in his chest and he could only imagine how frantic he appeared. Lily appeared in his vision suddenly and was holding a hand to Styx's shoulder as the woman began to pull out a syringe that was possibly going into his arm.

"Wait, I think I know who that is—he's the little boy, right? Severus, Courage is fine. He has black hair and he's kinda pale with dark eyes. Your son looks like you so much but you're sick, Severus. You have to lay back and relax… please," Lily pressed a comforting hand on his forehead. Severus relaxed slightly; obviously Courage was okay because that was his currently coloring. But he was a bit confused. Did she say son? But that would have to wait because the sleeping potion that was seeping through his skin.

(**)

The End

I hate Lily. I really, really hate her. I don't know why, maybe it's because she's too perfect.

YES! A story where I don't make Albus complete ass. Finally. I hope you guys liked it. I hope you will COMMENT! Don't leave me hanging. I provide you with words… you give me some. I scratch your back, you scratch mine.


	6. Hit With The Idiot Broom

Another chapter, another day

So, this is going along great. I guess I won't put any couple seeing as this is really about Sev and Courage… and no one suggested anything.

(**)

Courage was frightened. He was completely and totally frightened. It was as if there were a button in his brain that caused panic to engulf his very mind and someone was stomping on that button. He was in a strange house, in a strange room, and without Severus by his side. If that wasn't enough, the pictures were all staring at him. Normally one would chalk that up to paranoia but this little boy knew that this was not the case!

Courage shifted on the bed, pushing himself to the foot of it and the eyes literally followed him. They were grouped together in their portraits and felt the need to stare him down. Why were they painted that way anyway!?

"So, how's Snivellus doing?" a voice outside the door almost yelled. Courage let out a whimper and pressed himself into the wall by the bed, being sure that nothing could creep up on him. There was a groan of pain and then a thud of a body going down. Oh no, someone was hurting people in the house! What if they had hurt Severus? The man was sick, he was poisoned so that meant he needed something to get better and if he didn't get that something then he'd die! That meant that they couldn't know what to do or someone could have hurt him even more and…

"Don't you dare call Severus that disgusting name!"

… He was next, they were gonna hurt him next. Oddly he was more worried about Severus than… wait… did the screeching woman just say 'Severus' as in his Russ!? Courage leaned forward on the bed and listened intently to the conversation.

"You didn't have to kick me in the shin, Lils—didn't I kindly ask how the greasy git was?" the voice, a male, said. Courage felt a glare coming on and his hair shifted into a bright red—he didn't know who was saying it but it wasn't nice and he didn't like it. His Russ was not greasy and he wasn't a git (whatever that was).

"That is not kindly, Black," the woman spat, "Now as to the actual question… he seems fine. Styx has told me that he's resting peacefully but he was all out of sorts when he son wasn't with him. He tried to claw his way out of that bath of potions to get to him."

"I'm not surprise—I don't think the git likes baths," the mean man, Black, giggled. Courage growled low under his breath. Why did this man keep insulting his Russ? Never mind they thought him his papa, what was more important was to get the man to stop bad mouthing his Russ.

"Ha, you missed this time. So what's the brat's name?"

"Don't you dare insult that child either, he has done nothing wrong. His name is Courage from what Severus said and he really cares about him from what I saw." Courage could care less what the man said about him but it seemed that their attentions were now turned away from him. The now black haired boy glanced at the portraits and smiled slightly.

"Can you guys tell me where I am?" he whispered jokingly. The painted people would talk back to him or anything even if his paranoia told him they were watching him. Then one of them smiled brightly and pushed her way to the front.

"Well—."

(**)

Sirius was talking to Lily and lo and behold, what were they talking about? Snivellus Snape the Greasy Slytherin that wouldn't just die in a ditch somewhere. What was it about Sirius that just attracted bad luck? The Headmaster chewed him out silently for nearly a whole hour; the kid was tossing and turning on his bed because Lily insisted he owed the boy for harming his father; and Lily hit him hard in the shin after insulting Snivellus.

Of course he was going to get hit again because he was definitely going to make a crack at the kid's name. Snivellus named his kid something that he had nothing of! The man was a coward through and through yet he named his son 'Courage'!? It was too easy of a target.

"AHHHHH!" Sirius jumped five feet in the air as the frightened yell was accompanied by the slamming open of the bedroom door to their left. The kid came dashed out of the room, his eyes wide with panic and immediately runs to Lily, hiding behind her and all the while talking in gibberish. Sirius raised a brow... this was 'Courage'?

"Ab-ab oh pa-pa-awwooo!" Courage bounced on his toes, his pale fingers coming up to pull at his black strands harshly as he hurriedly babbled out his gibberish. Sirius had to bite on his tongue to stop the remarks from spilling from his lips. The last thing he needed was another blow to the groin.

"Courage, honey, calm down and speak to me," Lily urged, bending down slightly. Courage continued his incoherent speech before putting up his hands. It was then that Sirius realized that this kid was definitely Snape's. He was making his hands shift into images and show very thorough hand shadows. It was something only a freak would do and Snape was a freak and a coward just like his papa.

(**)

He could hear him. He could hear Courage screaming in horror and running. He could practically see the large tears dripping down his young face as his fear shook him to the very core. He had to help him and stop the babbling speech. Severus had to help.

With a groan of pain, Severus threw his legs over the side of the bed and pushed himself to his feet. He stumbled to a solid wall and leaned for a moment before dragging himself to the door. The poison was still migrating through his veins and made his blood feel kind of sluggish and no good. Severus fumbled with the door several times before it finally obeyed his command and opened for him.

"What's he saying? People… a group of people?" a voice that sounded horribly familiar came drifting down the hall behind the mumbles he could hear from Courage. All he could do was hope that it wasn't Sirius Black even though he was fairly sure that he was at the Order's Headquarters. He didn't remember much after the black out in that dirty alleyway but the hallways were familiar. He rounded a corner and then he saw him. It was Courage and he was making his hand literally shift and morph into shapes to create shadows.

"Huh… that's certainly unique…" he noted dumbly. The babbling suddenly ceased and three pair of eyes were on him within moments. Courage blinked once before he was on Severus, tackling him to the ground. The Slytherin let out a groan of pain but didn't complain as Courage buried his face in his bandaged torso and wrapping his arms around his body as tight as he could manage.

"I cannot breathe Courage," Severus gasped out. Courage grinned lightly and released him but he didn't climb down. Severus was comfortable and he wasn't pushing him away either. It was comforting that Russ had come running when he screamed. He knew that the man would always protect him, "What was wrong?"

"They… it talked. The paint talked," Courage whispered.

"Oh my MERLIN! Your son is as much as a coward as you are Snivellus!" Sirius suddenly cackled. Severus pulled himself into a sitting position and allowed the black haired boy to sit on his lap. He pressed against the wall to maintain some form of balance.

"Don't you call my Russ a coward. He's brave and nice!" Courage shouted angrily, his hair turning a fiery red as he stomped forward. He punched the man in the groin and rushed back to Severus, fear suddenly jumping on him as he realized what he had just done. It was rather worth it as the man went down like a sack of bricks, his hands between his legs and his face bright red. Severus smirked and began to pull his fingers to the now pink hair, watching as Sirius made pitiful noises.

"You have done the world a favor, Courage. At the very least, you have helped hindering the existence of at least three barbarians such as this one," Severus praised the boy. Courage shook against him, frightened half to death but he was kind of proud of himself. He never stood up for himself or anyone else for that matter.

"Uh… is this a bad time?"

Severus, Courage, and Lily all turned their heads to a very nervous James Potter. He shifted on his toes, wondering if he should question his best friend's embarrassing position on the floor, making equally embarrassing noises. Snape was looking rather smug even though he was in a vulnerable position on the floor (in his underwear, James might add), his son was now pink haired and snuggled on top of him, and Lily had a hand covering her smile.

(**)

It was bad enough that they had confined him to this bed. It was even worse they had yet to fix his clothing or at least given him some other set but the absolute horrifying part of this whole ordeal was the fact that they did not have the damn decency to pay attention to his words and hear them for what they were! It was as if he were speaking to people that had selective hearing. That or each and every one of them were incredibly thick headed.

"I don't get it," Black muttered in Potter's ear. Severus decided to go with the thick headed explanation. There wasn't anything else to explain how no one understood what he was saying. Severus pinched the bridge of his nose and took a calming breath before he found himself throwing children at these idiots. Poor Courage didn't deserve such a fate.

"Can you run it to us again, Sev?" Lily asked, tilting her head.

"I believe you have been around Potter too long Lils… his stupidity has rubbed off on you or he's got the idiot broom and he just keeps hitting you over the head with it," Severus sighed. He leaned back on his bed, getting comfortable because he knew that this was going to be a long day and he would probably snap sometime during this.

He spotted the orange haired woman that had given him the antidote and silently accepted the calming draught. Severus swallowed it down and waited a few seconds, nearly smiling as a sense of tranquility settled over frustration and anger that threatened to burst through his mouth and violently attack all within range.

"Sev, don't be mean!" Lily scolded, wagging a finger.

"I'm not being mean. You people are being incredibly dull. I will go through it one more time before I sleep, whether or not any of you understand because I need to leave. There is a traitor amongst the Order," Severus started, breaking it down as slow and calm as he could.

"I'm voting for the one with the kid on his lap," Black muttered. Severus didn't even spare him a glance much less a glare.

"This traitor has exposed me to the Dark Lord…" Severus continued. He was stopped only this time it was Albus that stopped him. If Severus weren't on the potion, he would seriously… honestly consider punching each person that interrupted him. Instead, he simply turned his slightly glazed onyx eyes to the old man and waited for him to speak.

"Severus, my boy, we went through great measures to keep your identity secret. No one here has seen your face, no one could have even guessed it was you that came to each meeting and gave a report," Albus insisted.

"That is why I am not dead. That is why I am being hunted like a rabbit. That is why Regulus Black finds himself running for his life too because the Dark Lord was not sure which of us were the turncoat but he knew that it was me or Regulus," Severus answered. Sirius sputtered, obviously not having heard that fact when Severus first told his story. He rolled his eyes and sat back, watching as the man jumped up and pointed a finger at him. Severus pulled his fingers through the silky pink hair Courage went back to sporting though it occasionally went black.

"You're a liar Snivellus—my brother is not a slimy Death Eater like you!" Black snarled. Severus nudged Courage off of him and slowly climbed from the bed, gliding peacefully over to Black. He stood in front of the slightly taller man and looked into the stormy blue eyes for a moment. His mind was slightly cloudy from the drugs, he still felt painfully calm.

Then the thought of punching Black came to his mind and he found his fist deep in the toned stomach, forcing the taller man to hunch over in pain with a choked noise. His ear was right by Severus' mouth which was so helpful to Severus for he needed his words to be heard.

"Cease your infernal use of that name," he hissed into the ear presented then turned. He started towards the bed and remembered what he had really gone to do. He was just going to say something to the insufferable idiot, "If your brother is not a Death Eater then you have nothing to fear of his being hunted. He is probably… vacationing."

"The witch doctor that is chasing me has told me that we have to simply stay alive for half of a month. I have already made it seven days. While running from this witch doctor, I happened upon Courage—," Severus, once again, found himself being cut off but this time it was the very pregnant Lily that did the cutting.

"That's not your son!?" she squawked, waving her arms about quite comically. Severus raised a brow and looked down at Courage. The boy looked up at him at the same time, his onyx eyes an exact shade to Severus'.

"How old are you Courage?" Severus asked curiously.

"I-I'm seven," he answered. Severus looked back up at the small Order members and waited for them to get on the same track as he was. Unfortunately, everyone fell out of the stupid tree and hit every branch on the way down today. Normally everyone was so sharp and quick to pick up.

"For him to be my son, I would have had him at the age of twelve. Courage is an orphan that I stumbled, quite literally, upon while running from demon hyenas. We spent a few days in hiding before I was located and now I am here," Severus finished his tale as vaguely as possible. None of them needed to know about his family and none of them would know. Severus let out a yawn and looked at the faces of the Order.

"Oh… you're still here?"

(**)

Courage wiggled his toes nervously, trying to stop from flinching each time the 'Black' character kept glancing at him. He was sitting at the long table, waiting for the food that was promised to him by the twinkly eyed old man. He didn't like any of these people very much… well, the man with the glasses was kind of okay because he didn't look at him too much or try to touch him like the red haired lady kept trying.

"Kreacher, the brat needs some food," Black shouted, causing Courage to launch out of his seat. He shook for several moments before taking a hard swallow and climbing back into the chair. He settled back down and looked around for this 'Kreacher' fellow.

"What is it you want young pureblood?" an old voice appeared by Courage's ear. The boy froze and slowly turned around and came nose to nose with a small… golem creature.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" he shrieked, jumping straight up, suspended in the air as his eyes bugged out and his pink haired stood on end. The color drained from his entire body like wash out dye and then he landed on the floor. He dashed from the room up the stairs, nearly making it to Severus' room before he found himself scooped into some strong arms. The frightened boy looked up and saw the messy haired man.

"Abooh ah aroo ah ah aoooooo!" Courage babbled to the man, his pale eyes wide. He tried to tell him of the monster downstairs that had been whispering in his ears and probably trying to hurt him. He also expressed his extreme desire to simply cuddle with Severus in his bed but the man didn't seem to understand him and even went so far as to ignore his hand shadows.

"Kreacher won't hurt you, kid. He's a House Elf—nothing to be afraid of, right Kreacher?" the man grinned confidently. Courage peeked through his fingers at the creature still standing by his abandoned chair. Yes it was ugly and odd looking but it seemed friendly enough as it gave him a forced smile. Courage felt his lips twitch too until he was too smiling back, or at least enough that the man put him back in his chair.

"Kreacher never hurt childs, never put his hands on scaredy little childs," the thing promised. Courage hesitantly nodded and gave a small pat to the House Elf's shoulder.

"I… can I can pancakes and milk?" Courage requested of the Elf. The thing nodded easily and walked off, not looking back at the pink haired boy. Courage looked back at the three adults that were now staring at him.

"That was some powerful accidental magic you did there, kid," Black said gruffly. Courage was not sure if it was because he didn't really want to talk to him or because his stomach still hurt after that hard blow Severus had given the man. The redhead lady suddenly snapped her fingers as if a light bulb had gone off in her mind.

"Where are my manners? We haven't had the pleasure of introducing ourselves! My name is Lily Potter, that man right there is my husband, James Potter and the gloomy Gus over there is Sirius Black. Don't mind him, he's just upset that Severus got him good although he did deserve it. I have told you to stop calling him that disgusting name," Lily went on to scold Black.

"The greasy bastard is lucky that Dumbledore would have knocked me back into 1921 which is the only reason I didn't break the fucker's jaw," Sirius huffed. Courage threw a glare at the man though it was extinguished as the man turned his head to him. He looked away and focused on the plate of food that had suddenly arrived.

(**)

The End

So yes, I'm sorry for the OOC moment with Snape but I can say potions motivated that. Uh, I hope everyone enjoyed… comment…


	7. Let Me In

I shall not tell a lie. I honestly thought I already uploaded this chapter and I came back to this document to start the next one, thinking I'd come back to just the ending but imagine my surprise when a full chapter stared at me!

Katz and Severus sound wonderful to me. Now, I'll give you time to protest but I'm kinda liking that odd pairing.

(**)

Someone was poking him in the middle of his forehead with either a stick or a skinny finger. The most logical respond would be to roll over onto his stomach and shield his forehead, thus stopping the poking and allowing him to continue his magnificent dream with the flying carpet.

Courage was such a genius for he employed this tactic and it worked perfectly. There was no longer any poking and he was free to sleep. Courage let out a sigh and cuddled into the soft pillow he had been given, slipping back into his dreams. Suddenly a warm weight settled on the small of his back and a cool breath started to blow on his exposed ear, allowing the smell of lemons and apples to overtake his nose.

"Courage, wake up…" the voice purred in his ear quite nicely. Courage smiled softly, that voice sounded just like his Russ which wasn't a bad sound. In fact it reminded him of chocolate. He reached up and sleepily placed his hand on the soft head of hair and pulled him down as much as he could which wasn't far.

"Russ," he murmured and drifted back into darkness. A dark chuckle sounded in his ear and the warm hand on his back pressed down just a bit to be uncomfortable. Courage, being a genius, rolled over and curled into a ball under the covers and away from the hand even if it was Russ' hand—he wanted to sleep. He didn't know where the half thought out plans came from but they were all brilliant and allowed him more sleep.

"If you do not get out of that bed, now, you will not like the consequence, Courage," the voice suddenly hissed before something came down harshly upon his head. Courage squeaked and his eyes popped open as Severus' voice and words penetrated his poor ears. He had gone from listening to verbal chocolate to being stabbed with a pick of ice. Courage sat up quickly on the bed, pulling his head out from under the pillow that Severus had whacked him with and stared up at the man who was standing up and full clothed.

"What are you doing, Russ? You gotta rest. Lady said potion will make you sleep for days," Courage reminded him. Severus rolled his eyes before scoffing.

"I have developed a resistance to a number of potions, one of them being Sleepless Dream. That is not important. What is important is for you to get dressed so that we may leave this house," Severus ordered, tossing the pink haired boy his clothes. Courage caught them easily and blinked at the bundle then at Severus, not quite understanding what he was supposed to be doing at that moment. The man was moving around softly, gathering his bag and checking its contents before sliding on his robes. Oh… they were leaving!

"Why, um, why are we leaving?" Courage inquired softly as he pulled on his clothing. Severus sighed and began to pull on his shoes.

"Dumbledore is a sentimental fool. He will attempt to keep me here for as long as I do not escape. I will not risk my former best friend, the Order, and your life for that old man," Severus explained quickly and without hesitation. Courage nodded his understanding and pulled on his clothes as fast as he could. His heart was swelling in his chest as he noted that Severus basically said that he valued him, perhaps even loved him. Maybe, one day, Severus would consider permanently keeping Courage and not just until he was out of danger for good. He could convince the man, maybe show him how useful he could be…

Severus opened the window and stuck a leg out. He turned back to Courage who stood frozen, confusion ranging on his small features once again. They were going to jump from the window!? Courage didn't like the thought of heights. Fear began to course through his veins once again and his hair flashed through the rainbow. Severus looked back at him and raised a brow at the now white hair and pitifully pale skin. Then he held out his hand, knowing that the boy was scared and needed some reassurance. Courage's panic came to a halt as he stared at the long digits. Severus had saved him twice, once from freezing or starving to death in that alley and another from the hyenas. He had taken him in when he could have simply dropped him off on any adoption center or church's doorstep.

So Courage took the pale hand.

(**)

The man held tightly to the child's hand as he walked down the street at a calm pace. They both wore cloaks, hoods drawn up to hide their faces although it was obvious that the child was nervous as his head turned left and right with every few feet that they traveled through the moonlit streets.

"Try to calm yourself, Courage. I can almost smell your fear," Severus sighed. He could not begrudge the boy for being scared but it was distracting him slightly from sensing out their surroundings. His frightened thoughts were like a radio on full blast and he was becoming in sync with the paranoia thoughts of monsters behind each shadow and around every corner.

Severus drew his mind away from the apologizing boy and hoped that he was not making a mistake by traveling to his home. He needed several things from there, things that would help him survive these days but his house was probably not the safest place. It was impossible for them to not know where he lived however his house had so many protection spells and wards surrounding it…

"Where are we going?" Courage whispered shivering as a gust of air lifted his cloak just a bit and distracting Severus from his line of thought.

"My house has protection around it but Old Magick, the kind that the witch doctor uses is very strong so we cannot stay there for more than a day. I need supplies that should help us," Severus answered truthfully. Courage nodded and tucked himself closer to Severus, keeping up with his long legged stride with pure luck and by nearly running.

"W-why don't we use magic to… appear there?" Courage chattered, glaring a bit at the snow that was still falling. He didn't really like the cold because he remembered… those people locking him outside in dog cages. They would put him in the backyard anytime they became tired of seeing him, especially when it was snowing. Courage knew that that wasn't how they should have treated him, even if he was a demon (not that Severus believed him to be a demon).

They wanted him to die but he didn't. Late at night, sometimes, Courage couldn't figure out why he couldn't just do what they wanted him but then he realized that he had been waiting. He had been waiting for the day that he would meet someone that would take care of him and he'd take care of them too. He wouldn't ever let anything hurt Severus.

"She may sense the use of my magic. I do not have enough energy to disguise it," Severus told him, drawing him from his thoughts this time. Courage tightened his hold on the thin hand as worry curled in his stomach. He didn't want Severus to be caught by the evil woman—he wouldn't lose Severus.

(**)

Severus paused in front of his house, his suspicion growing twice as large. He could feel that his wards had been disrupted but were still intact. It was possible that someone was waiting inside for him to come in but she wasn't stupid enough to think that he wouldn't know when his magical wards had been tampered with.

Severus looked down at the pink haired boy and pondered the stupidity of his brief idea of leaving Courage outside that that he could check out the house. However, that was putting Courage in danger more so because he wasn't there with him… and it was just plain stupid. He shook his head and strode to the house, easily bypassing his wards and opening his door.

"Avada—!"

"Expelliarmus!" Severus shouted, his red spell shooting out faster than the half spoken killing curse. A nasty hex was on the tip of tongue until he took in the figure of a panting, frantic looking Regulus Black. Severus narrowed his eyes at the man.

"What in the bloody hell did you think you were doing Black!? I could have killed you!" Severus hissed, striding over to the younger man. The wizard ran a hand through his messy hair and it was then that Severus truly took in his appearance. His eyes were wide and darting everywhere, bags signaling the lack of sleep marred his face, while his clothes were torn, rumpled and he smelled horrible.

"Russ?" Courage inquired, peeking from behind the skinny man's legs. Severus sighed and moved slight so that Courage could fully take in the crazed looking man.

"Regulus Black, this is my ward Courage Dogg, Courage, this is a… friend…" Severus introduced the two while using the word 'friend' as lightly as possible. He didn't hate Regulus but their relationship wasn't quite one of friendship. He did feel a type of connection enough that he opened up to him and Regulus to him. It was enough that Severus allowed Regulus' magical signature to come into his home without his permission but not enough that Severus felt comfortable to tag a friend note to Regulus' body.

"Black… like Mr. Sirius?" Courage tilted his head. Now that Courage looked at him, he resembled the grumpy man in the house quite a lot although this Black was definitely younger. Regulus raised a brow at him and Courage found himself moving behind Severus' leg once again just in case the man reached for him or said something nasty.

"Skittish thing, isn't he?" Regulus commented off hand.

"He has shown moments of being quite brave although you are being quite stupid—how long have you been in my home?" Severus demanded, his eyes hardening at the younger wizard. It wasn't that he didn't like Regulus or found that their close proximity brought their deaths just that much closer, it was the sole fact that he wanted to rest in his own bed before finding a new place to dwell only to run once more. If Regulus was in the house for more than a day, then it would be impossible and his plans would be ruined.

"This house was a last resort for me, Severus. So I came here merely five hours ago. I considered my brother but the last thing I want to do is see him… or put him in danger," Regulus sighed, throwing himself on the couch quite gracelessly. Severus sneered at the wizard and folded his arms. Did he honestly just place his filthy body on his couch!?

"If you wish to be within twenty miles of me, you'll take care of that dreadful stench—shower," Severus ordered tightly, hating the fact that he almost sounded like his grandfather as he pointed to the stairs. Regulus pulled himself into a standing position and dragged himself up the stairs, weariness pounding his shoulders down. Had he not smelled so horrible, Severus might have taken pity on him and suggested sleep rather than sending him up for some kind of water and soap action.

(**)

Regulus sighed under the warm water raining down on him. It felt absolutely amazing on his dirty skin. He had been running for days on end, sleeping in dirty, highly populated magical areas where he could ward his hideout but still not be noticeable against anyone else. It had been hard and draining, he could almost feel his magical core throbbing with his exhaustion. It was a pure miracle that he could stand, much less actively wash his body. He winced as his rag glided across bruised skin and possibly a bruised rib. Honestly, how was he to know that jumping from such a high height would hurt so much?

"Oh, Regulus," a tantalizing voice called. Regulus frozen in his cleansing and listened hard, sure that something had called him.

"Severus?" Regulus called softly in case the older wizard had called out to him. It was a slim chance because Severus knew the fears and dangers that plagued him for they plagued the other Slytherin also. Regulus shook his head and deemed the sound something coming from fatigue and paranoia.

"Regulus," the breathy voice whispered again, caressing his ears. It was a lovely sound that sent pleasurable shivers up and down Regulus' tight body. Regulus turned off the water this time and slowly peeked around the curtain. He didn't see anyone in the bathroom with him, the artificial light made a minimum of shadows and none of them were large enough for anyone to hide in. Regulus carefully stepped from the tub, wrapping a towel around his waist and allowing some water to drip onto the floor.

"Come here my darling. Come to me Regulus," the voice urged, coming from an unknown location. Regulus wanted to go to her, he wanted to be with her only if to hear her voice and see what heavenly face must come with the beautiful voice. Regulus walked over to the bathroom's window and he was sure that he could see her. She was curvy and perfectly proportioned with impossibly long purple hair that fell like a waterfall over her shoulders. Something sat atop the thick strands, perhaps a crown, and she wore a long black dress with a plunging neckline that showed off the lovely swells of her breast.

"Let me in Regulus, come on, let me in," she called out to him. Regulus whimpered and placed his hands on the window, wishing that he could make out her face from this distance not that it mattered. He loved her already, he would do any—

"Are you finished Regulus, Courage needs to relieve himself," Severus' velvet voice broke through his mind. Regulus shook his head, feeling slightly dazed and confused as he looked out into the empty street. What the Hell was he doing by the window anyhow? He shook his head once again and stumbled to the door, coming nose to nose with Severus Snape.

"I have prepared a stew for dinner so after you get dressed you can join us. You have some clothing from your other stays in your customary room," Severus added as he stepped back. Regulus left out of the bathroom and Courage entered as a pink blur in his desperation not to soil himself. Regulus let out a tiny chuckle at the boy's antics and turned to Severus who was smirking softly. Hm, that was odd… it seemed as though the black haired man actually… _cared_ about the child. Regulus scoffed at such a thought and pushed it to the back of his mind. He knew Severus and the man did not like children much less care about one.

(**)

There were many things that could be said about Severus Snape, not a lot of them nice things but one thing that could not be said is that Severus Snape is a horrible cook. If Regulus wasn't the pureblood that he was, he would be moaning at the delicious stew that exploded with flavor in his mouth. It nearly made him want to cry and hug Severus for simply existing. The expression on Courage's readable face made him think that the child was having the same urges.

"You would think that the two of you have never eaten," Severus noted in an amused tone. Regulus blushed firmly and tried to slow down but this was the warmest meal he had in seven days. He was practically starving and Severus' excellent cooking didn't help him a single bit.

"You cook really good, Russ," Courage complimented his guardian sweetly.

"Yes, you'll make someone a good wife," Regulus couldn't help but throw in. Severus tossed a glare at the man and probably would have hexed him if they weren't laying low and attempting to not use as much magic as possible. It might have even helped that Courage was looking at them both.

"So Courage, do you have full control of your ability as a metamorphmagus?" Severus inquired of the child before taking a bite of his stew. Courage blinked several times in confusion before the man gestured to his hair then he understood. He was talking about his ability to change things about himself but Courage wasn't really sure. He always tried to keep his hair one color and to never change it in front of someone but he never attempted to do any color changes on purpose. Curiously, Courage pulled a clump of his hair down until it was in his sight and stared at it with a determined eye. After several tense moments it turned black and Courage felt a sense of accomplishment as Regulus gave a congratulatory applause and Severus smiled softly.

"Sometimes… but most of the time it's by accident," Courage stated, watching as it shifted (without his permission) back into the bright pink color he tended to stick with. He never knew as to why his hair tended to stay pink but he used to think that it was a demonic thing. After spending the seven days with Computer, Severus, and Muriel… well, he couldn't help but think that he wasn't a demon, he wasn't a monster or a freak. He was normal like Severus and his parents had been wrong about him. Severus didn't hate him and protected him quite often.

"It's still an amazing gift to have, young Courage," Regulus praised him from across the table. Courage felt a small blush spread across his pale face but he was proud of himself. As they finished their meal, Severus encouraged the pink haired lad to take a shower before sleeping while Severus gathered materials so that they could all leave. Courage nodded and trotted up the stairs to take his well-deserved shower.

"All of us?" Regulus raised a brow, a bit surprised at the offer. He followed the man into the basement where he found an extensive potions lab, cauldrons readied to be lit and journals opened to be filled. Severus ignored all of the cauldrons and stepped to the shelves that lined the walls, looking at each potion carefully. As he heard the question, Severus turned back to Black and tilted his head curiously once he spotted the facial expression. Why did the other man appear to be so shocked?

"It is my fault that you are in your current predicament so of course I will help you in your bid for survival," Severus said simply, turning back to find more potions that could be used to protect them both offensively and defensively. This statement only caused Regulus to be more floored. His tired brain couldn't believe what it was hearing—Severus was a spy for the Order!? He was the traitor amongst the Dark Lord's Inner Circle?

"But… but why?" Regulus sputtered. Severus sighed and turned back to Regulus, onyx eyes tired although still very sharp. Regulus remained silent, waiting for his not-friend to start speaking.

"I have never seen what my… work has done. The Dark Lord was very insistent that I stay in the lab and carry on with my research. I had snuck out one day and went down to Diagon Alley for some items instead of sending someone else out. I had just finished purchasing my things when the attack happened. An invention of mine was thrown into the crowded streets and spread out as a mist," Severus swallowed hard as he remembered the horrified scream and the shrieks of children. He could see people scrambling to get away from the scene but it was too late. Everyone had taken in the mist… including Severus. True fear had griped each of them and they became delirious and paranoid, some even violent as the potion took effect.

"I remember that attack," Regulus spoke up, swallowing hard. It had been a test run of Severus' new potion to be sure that it would actually work. He hadn't heard the screams because he had plugged his ears. He didn't want guilt to pound into his head even though he could still see their fear stricken facial expressions and almost feel the chuckles that his comrades gave, "It was going fine, people running around screaming like you said the potion would but then there was this guy. We couldn't see him because he had a cloak on. He started to give people the antidote and… that was you!?"

"Yes. I have a _condition_ I believe you would call it. I always have my poisons and antidotes on hand… twice over," Severus always felt embarrassed when mentioning his habit. He never went anywhere without at least twice of everything that he had. Even his lab was created that way, everything twice over just to be sure that he was not only prepared but that nothing could be forever lost. He hadn't been able to save everyone that day but enough people that they ran off and got help or, at the very least, subdued the people still under the potion's lure.

"… I am not sure what to say," Regulus finally muttered. He was being pulled in half at the moment. At one side, he was actually happy that all of this happened because the guilt was starting to build each day he continued being a Death Eater. However, there was a chance that he could die. A half demon was out for his blood, trying to kill him with all of his worth and he could very well succeed.

"There is nothing for you to say. If you happen to live after all of this well, you can thank me. If not… well, I suppose you won't have to worry about speaking," Severus shrugged and turned back to his meticulous shelves. Regulus shook his head and felt a smile tug at his lips. Severus was still Severus in all of his sarcastic morbidity*.

(**)

Courage hummed as the water pounded on his tiny head and washed away all of his suds. It was a lovely feeling, so lovely in fact that he watched as the suds pooled at his feet before dragging themselves down the drain. Courage giggled slightly and grabbed some more of the sweet soap and began to scrub at his skin.

"Courage," a voice whispered lovingly. The pink haired boy paused in his motions and looked around the tub to be sure that someone wasn't behind him. Fear was starting its familiar course into his veins but it was a small spill, nothing that caused him to scream and run. Behind him it was, of course, very empty but he had been so sure that he had heard a voice.

"Courage, I'm so cold… let me in, please?" an almost sad voice pleaded. Courage jumped and his heart pounded in his chest because now he knew that he was not crazed. He opened the shower curtains and looked around the bathroom and again, he found it lacking anyone but himself.

"Courage, please come to me. Let me in," the voice trilled in its perfection. Courage stepped out of the bath and pulled his towel around his skinny body to shield from any cold as he began to search the bathroom a little more thoroughly. He went to the window and he saw her. She had her hands out and Courage was sure that she was the most beautiful thing in the world if he could see her face. She looked to be his age with long, long purple hair and a cute, knee length dress. Her thin, pale arms came to wrap around her body and she shivered.

"Courage, let me in," she begged. Courage whimpered and placed his hands against the glass of the window. He wanted to help her but at the same time, something in his mind yelled against it. He thought it was his fear of new people… okay, people in general but she needed him.

"Severus!" he called out as loud as possible, not taking his eyes from smiling girl. Severus would know how to help her! He listened to pounding feet and turned his head as the bathroom door flew open. The man's face was stoic as usual but his stance spoke of a waiting battle. He paused as he simply saw Courage in nothing but a towel.

"She needs help," he said immediately, pointing outside. Severus raised a brow and came up behind the child, looking outside the window and out at the empty streets.

"But… but she was there!" Courage insisted. Severus sighed and placed his hand on the child's head, guiding him out of the bathroom and into the room that he would share with Severus because he doubt that the boy would want to sleep on his own. He gave him one of his mother's old shirts and it hung off of him like a dress.

"Go to sleep Courage. I am almost finished with the preparations and you must be rested properly if we are to continue," Severus sighed at the pink haired boy. He watched as the child climbed into the bed and snuggled into the soft blankets and fluffy pillows.

"Good night Russ," Courage whispered after him. The Potions Master paused in the doorway and smiled at the child, repeating his words.

(**)

Regulus laid in the bed, tossing and turning as something kept him up. He didn't know what it was but it wouldn't let him sleep. Tears of frustrations were starting to pool in his eyes because he knew that he had a limited time to sleep. He needed as much as possible unless he wanted to be a burden and, although Severus didn't hate him, he would not put it past Snape to leave him should he cause too much trouble. He closed his eyes and willed his body to relax enough to sleep.

"Regulus, come to me darling," the voice whispered. The Slytherin moaned lightly and opened his eyes back as the words curled around his mind. He sat up on the bed and tossed aside the covers. Oh, he had to go to her.

(**)

The End

Yay, not only a cliff hanger but another character from Courage the Cowardly Dog! You guys remember her right? A cookie if you get it right! I changed her ability just a tiny bit but she does/looks like everything she does.


	8. Please Come Help Me

I just had this idea and let's just say that it's a little… naughty. There's only an intended pun if you get it.

Warnings: nothing that hasn't been viewed before.

(**)

Severus lay in his bed, silently wishing that he could sleep the night away but he couldn't. Something bothered him in the back of his mind, screamed that something tragically wrong was happening and he had to stop it but he was so exhausted. Severus shifted on his large bed, pulling away from Courage as softly as possible so as to not awaken the child. He would have to break Courage out of the clingy attitude he had and provide him with his own room.

"What are you thinking Severus? You may not live in the next few days and yet you are already planning on accepting a child into your home?" he scoffed and shook his head. He placed his head in his hands and held his breath, closing his eyes as hard as he could. He used to do this as a child, hold his breath whenever he was distressed or angry until he either passed out or he felt better. His thoughts ran around his brain, trying to grasp onto something that would calm him down and release his breath. An edge of darkness was beginning to seep into Severus' vision and his head throbbed slightly.

"Here I come, my darling."

In his surprise, Severus took in a large, silent gasp of breath. He tilted his head and listened as hard as he could. There were no more words but the sound of feet slowly sliding across his floors, past his bedroom were what really interested him. Severus raised a brow and stood up, striding to his door silently, snatching his wand off his nightstand along the way.

"I'm coming." The words sounded again, sounding like a soft breeze and the Potions Master could have misheard them. Severus cracked open his door, wand at the ready and saw Regulus Black. Well, of course it was Regulus because no one had entered his house but it was who the man was talking to that intrigued Severus, even more so as to who he thought he was walking towards. More likely than not, the man was possibly sleepwalking which would mean that Severus would have to chase him down and wake the man up.

Severus sighed low under his breath and went back to his bed, dropping to his knees to reach his slippers and grabbing his robe from the bedpost. He straightened and looked over at Courage. He stretched out, hands reaching where Severus would have been had he been sleeping. A slight shiver convulsed his body due to the fact that he wasn't covered at all. Well, Severus was known to steal blankets. He exhaled quietly once more and fixed the boy and watched as he sighed in the newly given warmth.

"I shall be right back, child," he assured the sleeping youth who simply mumbled under his breath and rolled onto his side. Then he left the room.

Regulus was no longer in the hall. Severus raised a brow and looked up and down, walking back to Regulus' room to see if he had awakened from his dream and went back on his own. However, he was not there. Severus walked to the bathroom, something suspicious starting to bubble in his stomach. He wasn't there either. He started down the stairs, wand at the ready. The first thing he saw as he descended the stairs was Regulus standing in the open doorway.

"Come inside my love, come inside!" he invited whomever was standing outside in. Severus cursed and flew down the stairs, rushing to stop the man from doing something stupid. He wrapped his hand around Regulus' strong shoulder and pulled the man away and swallowed a shriek of terror (that would have been undeniably unmanly) as he found himself facing an ugly… thing with large, sharp teeth that caused its jaw and mouth to appear twice as big and dangerous.

"PROTEGO!" he shouted, sending the monster flying far down the dark, unlit street with an echoing screech. Severus quickly slammed the door. Before he could secure the latch and throw up more protection, he found himself slammed into the door by the younger wizard. His wand went flying from his fingers and all the breath in his lungs left as the square fingers twisted into his pajamas and threw him backwards. Severus scrambled onto his feet once more and dodged as the man threw his body at him then launched himself at the long piece of wood that would save him from having to rely on psychical strength that he did not have. Relief coursed through his frantic system as his fingers latched onto the smooth wood. He flipped onto his back, eyes focusing on the man throwing himself wildly at him.

"Stupefy!" he shouted before his wand was even fully pointed at the crazed man. The red light slapped into the man's chest and he went down like a sack of bricks. Severus scrambled to his feet and dashed to the door, throwing his skinny body into it just as something threw itself at the same time. Severus gritted his teeth and flipped the latch before building up his wards once more. He put any and all locks over the wood keeping whatever that thing was out of his home.

"LET ME IN!" it howled outside although it sounded odd. Its voice was almost as if it was underwater and it sounded angry. Severus panted as he backed away from the door and the beast, almost tripping over Regulus' body. He glared down at the wizard and only exhaustion stopped him from kicking the idiot in the kidney but now he knew that he needed to restrain him in a different part of the house, away from doors and windows so that that beast could not get inside. Then he would have to figure out a plan to get out without any of them losing their lives… Severus knew that he was in for a sleepless night.

(**)

"It seems that your pet did not work, lazy demon," a harsh voice spoke in the dead of the night, blending with the shadows effortlessly in the warm sitting room. The white haired man that sat in a comfortably stuffed chair did not avert his eyes from the large screen that he stared at. Suddenly a curvy woman with dark skin stepped forward, her unnatural round, dark eyes staring at the back of the demon's head before she slinked forward.

"Shanzi-kun, do not make me evict you from my temporary home," the deep voice of the man stated, red eyes turning to watch as the woman perched herself on the arm of his chair, her intoxicating smell assaulting his sensitive nose. He leaned towards her a bit, shifting until he was more comfortable with his growing erection.

"I broke into this house—same as you. And, if my memory serves me, I believe that I bested you, Danzo," the witch doctor returned with a smirk upon her face. The half-demon grinned slightly, his teeth sparkling in the jumping light that the fire provided. He remembered those times he decided to cause random havoc without revealing the demon world to the majority of mortals and, somehow, he always found himself facing Shanzi.

"That is odd, I distinctly recall hearing your moans of pleasure as I lead you through the waves of pleasure… hm, perhaps that was another woman," he taunted only to feel the searing pain of treated gold pressed into his neck. He didn't cry out, instead grunting and slapping the woman's hand with a poisoned sharp nailed hand. He glared at the woman for a moment before smiling as he noticed that the ancient witch was actually pouting, folding her arms under her plump bosom and sticking her bottom lip out. If she hadn't literally killed him and brought him back from the dead more than three times then he would have actually thought she was being quite adorable. "I forgot that you are a very… jealous woman however using gold is just wasteful."

"Shut your mouth, demon and tell me what new plan you have. Your pet has failed, lazy," Shanzi warned, folding her legs and using a small bout of magic to keep herself from falling off the arm of the couch. She wanted to slide down and sprawl across the half-demon but she need not prove his point of her enjoying his company. The demon did not need to get a large head.

"That is where you are wrong. She has been given invitation and while she cannot perform magic to defeat your powerful prey's protection… she has other means," Danzo smirked as the television suddenly focused on a certain sleeping child who shifted fitfully as if he knew that he was being watched by a witch doctor and half-demon out to get his guardian and guardian's friend. Shanzi shook her head, this lazy demon wouldn't get his hands dirty battling… idiot.

"Let us view her triumph, shall we?"

(**)

"Courage…!" a voice whispered. Immediately Courage opened his eyes, searching the darkness for the voice that was calling him. It was so beautiful, so beautiful that it stomped down any fear that he felt. It was as if that voice dulled any sense of panic and wanted nothing but to help him. Actually it reminded him of Russ but… oh, his side of the bed was cold and his body was not there. He had probably gotten up a while ago. Where was Russ? He threw the blankets off his legs and slid from the bed, his tiny feet nearly freezing upon contact with the cold ground.

"Come help me, Courage…!" the voice begged, spinning around his mind and intoxicating his very senses. Oh, he had to help her—Russ was probably fine! Courage slowly opened the door and peeked through the crack to see Severus pulling Regulus by his shoulders down the hall. He tilted his head at that odd scene and waited until the two disappeared into the bedroom at the end of the hall before sliding out of the door.

"Oh Courage, help me! Please come help," the voice continued to plead with him. Courage whimpered and followed the sound, entering the dark bathroom slowly but he couldn't see anyone. He frowned and stepped further in, looking for the owner of that beautiful voice.

"Courage, turn on the water… turn on all the water. Help me Courage. Help me," it instructed. Courage bit his lip and trotted over to the tub, turning on the water as high as it could before plugging the drain. He smiled down at his reflection as the water began to spill onto the tiled floor. In it he saw the most beautiful girl possible, her large blue eyes earnest and happy. "Yes Courage, yes. Turn on all the water. Turn it all on and let it flow. Let it flow, Courage. Then we can have fun. We can have so much fun."

(**)

Severus was not sure when he had fallen asleep, it was probably while watching over Regulus and putting spells over the male just in case he had awakened in the night and attempted to leave once more. The only reason he didn't tie him up indefinitely was in the case that they had to move swiftly and the last thing he wanted was for the idiot to die… and because Severus was exhausted and needed to save up as much energy as he had. So he must have fallen asleep but something had awakened him but he wasn't exactly sure as to what it was.

Severus blinked around the dark room in confusion, mind trying to process what had startled him into consciousness once more. He sighed and prepared to slip back into the land of dreams once more only for his instincts to nudge him and deny him the right of sleep. Severus let out a low whimper and pulled himself into a standing position and walked as carefully as he could to the door. As he neared it, a splashing sound reached his ears and wet assaulted his feet. Severus gasped and lit his wand, directing it at the floor. It was beginning to leak through the door and, upon tossing it open, he realized that his entire hallways was flooded!

His mind screeched into paranoid alertness and his wand was gripped tightly as he made his way carefully through the water. There was something odd about the water, something that didn't feel right but Severus could not explain what it was but he did figure out what awakened him. It was the sound of water running and dropping. He rushed into the bathroom and slammed off all of the faucets but he could still hear running water. Severus cursed under his breath, what was happening?

He slowly took the stairs which were equally soaked as the water ran freely down. He glared at the reflection of his furniture, his suspicion becoming larger and more vivid. He had a sinking feeling that one of their killers was there but he didn't know which one or how. He ran through the water and found Courage sitting on the counter, his eyes dazed and wide as he smiled down at the pouring water.

"Courage, what are you doing!?" Severus roared, rushing forward and shutting the water off. Courage let out a yell and latched onto Severus' arm, sinking his teeth into the pale hand. Severus let out a curse and stumble back, his other hand coming up to twist into the pink locks and yank as hard as possible but the boy wasn't releasing his hold. Severus could feel his blood falling into the boy's mouth and down his chin.

"Courage, let go!" he shouted, hand reaching for his wand which seemed to be so far away. "Boy, fight this spell you are under and release me!"

"What the BLOODY HELL is going on!?"

Severus twisted his head and saw Regulus running through the way, his eyes locked on the little boy that was currently biting his guardian with the fury of a junkyard dog. He wrapped his arms around the boy's middle and yanked him away from the pale man who had been reluctant to hurt the boy. Courage was a thin boy so it wasn't hard for Regulus to pin him down, not that he was fighting. As Severus let out a cry of pain, clutching his bloodied hand to his thin chest, it seemed to snap Courage out of his daze.

"Wh… what…? What happened…?" Courage blinked, eyes confused and scared. Regulus let him up but he noticed that everything was flooded with a river of water but the water coming from Russ's direction was turning red. Courage scrambled on his knees towards the man, quickly followed by Regulus with his wand at the ready.

"Oh no, I'm sorry, I'm sorry Russ! Bad Courage, bad Courage—stupid demon!" he shouted, pulling at his hair, tears falling down his young cheeks. His mother and father were right when they said he was a demon. He caused Russ pain when the man did nothing but helped him. It didn't matter that he did it because she forced him to and he couldn't really remember as to how he managed to destroy the man's hand like that. All that mattered was that he had hurt Russ!

"Courage, now is not the time to hurt yourself. Calm down for I am fine. It is nothing but a flesh wound. Your teeth are not exactly daggers and you are not a demon," Severus tried to soothe the boy through his pain with quick words that he hoped sounded convincing and at least a bit reassuring. Regulus took the damaged hand, ignoring the flinch that Severus gave and began to mutter healing spells to the best of his knowledge.

"I'm still sorry Russ. I'm really sorry," Courage whimpered in the man's chest.

"Aw isn't this so cute… little boy apologizing to his father," a harpy like voice scraped against Severus' eardrums although it did not seem to effect Regulus and Courage. In fact, Courage relaxed against him and Regulus dropped his hand to gaze at the thing. It was hideous—jaws huge and disconnected with unnaturally large, glowing purple eyes that stared out evilly. Long, knotted wild purple locks cascaded all the way to the things bottom with its skin the color of dead, blue-gray flesh. Its body was too thin and breast too large with a ratty black dress that draped across its frame. This was a demon yet Regulus and Courage did not seem to agree.

"You are so… pretty," Courage whispered at the beautiful young girl with her knee-length dress and beautiful face. It was as he envisioned it—well sculpted facial bones with beautiful, innocent amethyst eyes. She giggled at his compliment and her healthy peach skin flushed with embarrassment.

"Regulus… I want you to come to me. Come here Regulus," the woman held out her arms. The man was on his feet faster than Severus could stop him. He stopped several feet from the demonic woman and waited for her to take him away and looked to be preparing to jump into her awaiting arms. Severus cursed male stupidity, honestly, he had a feeling that the wizard was thinking purely with his dick. He had to stop the younger Slytherin from dying so he did the first thing he could think of: _he_ jumped up and tackled the demon. To his surprise, they didn't hit the floor. Instead they went under, deep into the water until it surrounded the two of them. The demon woman shrieked and wrapped her disgustingly thin arms around his body, tightening until all the air left his body and water filled his lung. Oh God, he was going to die… he was going to…

(**)

"Your foolish PET has taken my prey!" Shanzi growled, slapping the half-demon man in the back of the head several times. When the water demon disappeared, taking Severus with her, and the other males were broken from the spell.

"It is not my fault that _your_ prey is _homosexual_! She can change her form into anything that a man wants—no matter the species but she cannot change her gender. Had your wizard not had a liking for the male anatomy then perhaps he would not be getting eaten now," Danzo scoffed although he did sigh as he realized that he probably wouldn't get laid for several months now. He would have a word with that useless bitch that called herself a demon… after she finished eating one Severus Snape.

(**)

The thin, tall man stomped down the soggy sidewalks, glaring at the dirty snow he was forcing himself to walk through. Honestly, this was a damn disgrace but if that bitch hadn't gotten so touchy then he wouldn't need to beat some sense into the bitch of a demon. As it was, she did get touchy and stole something of his and now he had to track her all the way down to where she was and beat some sense into her. The man ran long digits through his subtle red and purple hair and paused as he stopped in front of a large lake.

"If I had been contacted earlier…" he grumbled as he pulled a pouch from his coat's pocket. He sprinkled it into the water and waited until it was glowing, a large image of a disgusting demonic being standing over top of a blue-lipped man. It was obvious that the man was her captive and slowly dying while she watched angrily. Pretty soon her hunger would get the better of her and she'd just eat him before the last of his oxygen was used. He rolled his eyes and forced the magical vision to rove around the room more and then he spotted it—there it was! His precious little baby! Well, it was official. He was killing the siren-bitch and taking back his precious… if he was feeling kind, he'd help the man too.

(**)

The man frowned as he looked around his shop. It had been completely destroyed and rifled through. He stepped carefully over the broken glass and went over to his safe, seeing that it had been completely ravaged by what seemed to be giant jaws. A pout came to his lips as he spotted all of his money and jewels but, there was a lack of…

"Ah, I remember my love. A gentle, purple dove. Piled on her head was the most beautiful locks I have ever seen. I say, they were beautiful, thick locks that were always clean. They made me feel so… naughty," he grinned wistfully as he spoke aloud, his thick blond brows lowering over green eyes. He put his hands together and gazed at the ceiling as he recalled the way the hair felt against his fingers and the sound they made (over her screams of outrage, of course) as they were met with his buzzing razor and fell softly onto the watery floor. He supposed he could make a visit to her… maybe it grew back.

Then he would go looking for his cousin. Oh, he should visit his Aunt Muriel more often. She told him such nice things about her life. She also told him about her grandson who was being a bit, well… you know. Oh Hell, he'd say it anyway.

"Naughty…!"

(**)

The End

COMMENT!

So… much OOC-ness! Don't kill me for it. I TRIED I tell you I TRIED. Oh yeah and, not to be odd or anything but the bad guys probably won't have much screen time. This chapter was probably the only time they'd get that much recognition (because they're OCs) and it served a purpose that will apply later on.


	9. Well now

Poor Courage… poor story, it had to wait so long for its mama to feed it (that sounded less creepy three days ago). I hope you guys will enjoy. I don't own anything…

Warning: might be some OOC-ness, a lot of violence, a hint of gore, with a dash of GAY (yaoi/slash… whatever)

(**)

"Russ, RUSS!" Courage howled as he scrambled forward, half standing and half on his knees. He slapped at the place where Severus had been, his eyes gazing down into the two inches of water only to see a demon of some kind pull Severus far below. The pink haired boy let out a scream of horror and pounded harder at the ground, tears rushing down his face and hitting the ground that much harder. The house actually shook on its foundation after the first hit, causing Courage to pause for a brief moment although his mind continued to shriek its outrage and horror.

"Courage, we have to go!" Regulus shouted, wrapping his fingers around Courage's arm and pulling the child up. He knew that the boy loved Severus and would probably rip the portal open with pure will but at the moment the house was under attack. With Severus not being there, actually being forcefully removed, the wards were weakening and it seemed that the demon and witch doctor realized that because he could feel their power attacking the home. He had to protect Courage and to do that, he had to drag the child far away from this place. He sent a quick prayer to Severus and gathered the small child in his arm, tapping his wand in the middle of the thrashing boy's forehead to render him unconscious. Then he snatched up Severus' wand and dashed up the stairs, being careful of the slight weight in his arms.

"Think Reggie, think… oh his bag!" Regulus realized. Severus had gathered up a collection of his potions and whatnot so it would only make sense that it was important. He rushed to the man's room, his heart pounding in his chest as he heard the wards give a loud crash—it had finally caved under the pressure. He cursed low under his breath and slung the bag over his shoulder. He had to figure out a way out of there and—

"Hello human," a distinguished, cold voice purred. Regulus' head snapped around and he saw the half-demon sent to kill him leaning calmly on the doorframe as if he belonged there. Regulus gulped and took a step back, a whimper tearing from his throat as the witch doctor stepped from the shadows beside the immortal. This was the worst thing that could happen… he was trapped by two beings that could kill him within a few seconds.

"I regret to say that Shanzi-kun has… argued that she has the pleasure of ridding your soul from its weak casing," Danzo shrugged, not sounding at all contrite. Regulus felt his heart pounding in his chest and fear clouding his mind. Of course with such a predicament, no one could possibly fault Regulus for what he did next:

He threw himself and the pink haired boy out of the window several feet behind him. Their fall happened slowly, everything happening in the slowest speed known to man. He could see the twinkling glass following after them; feel the pressure of the large shards that were simply pressed flat against his back. He could hear Courage's pounding heart that nearly overpowered his own. His cloudy eyes gazed back at the window to see the slightly shocked but mostly impassive witch doctor and demon. If he wasn't falling to something that might very well hurt, he might have given them both a one finger salute. However, he was meeting the ground in the next second and the air rushed out of him and pain rushed in. He let out a groan and tried to catch his breath, his lungs working in overtime to go back on track while his body twitched. The soft weight on his body shifted and he felt cold hands grip his cheeks.

"You gotta get up! Up!" Courage pleaded, hair flashing many colors with the urgency of his words while his large onyx eyes searched his face carefully.

"R-run, Courage… just run," Regulus gasped out to the boy. He knew that the witch doctor and half-demon would soon be down to his level although they were taking their time just to toy with him. Courage's hand came from nowhere and slapped him across the face, bringing him out of his thoughts of death. It wasn't a hard slap but it did sting quite a bit.

"I won't leave you!" the boy whimpered, the slap having come from fear more than anger. The boy babbled in the gibberish language that only he could understand before pulling at Regulus' hands to force him to his feet. "C'mon, up!" Regulus groaned and forced his body to obey, lacing fingers with the small boy and somehow taking off in a stumbling jog. He didn't get too far before he twisted in a tight circle and disappeared with a pop, bringing the child along for the ride.

(**)

He couldn't move. Even as each breath brought him closer to dying, water burning through his nose and filling his lungs, he couldn't do anything to stop it. He was hopeless in this realm of water and paralysis, not even able to make the smallest of whimpers. However he could still see the beast that kidnapped him, standing patiently in front of him. He wondered if she was going to eat him because he offended her by not being enthralled by her 'beauty' or if she was going to eat him because he was simply the first thing she caught. It was a good thing that it hadn't been Courage although he wasn't sure how he felt about dying for Regulus. The man was like a brother to him but still… sacrificing himself was a bit much… right?

"Just a minute more and you'll die, mortal," the water witch sighed happily, her misshaped jaw grinding in thought of biting into his bony body. Severus chuckled mentally as he thought about the witch being hungry once more five minutes after eating him. It probably wasn't far from the truth but it entertained Severus greatly. Oh how humorous he was when at the brink of death. Perhaps the Marauders should have nearly killed him more often they might have gotten along every once and awhile. Before Severus could dwell more on such thoughts, the witch was suddenly tackled to the side. If he could have, he would have turned his head to see what was happening but he was still paralyzed.

"Oh my love, my dear, my dove—your lovely purple locks has caused me to lose control and be very naaaaaugh_ty_," a purring voice announced darkly. If Severus could have moved, he would have fainted at hearing that voice. He hadn't been in this man's presence in YEARS especially after he had one of his episodes and attempted to attack Severus for his newly washed locks. Severus had beaten him a new set of teeth and then hung him by his toes in the barn after that but it hadn't fazed the man at all.

Honestly, the man was completely insane but Severus firmly blamed that on his mother's side of the family—they had used 'Crucio' to punish the blond man when he was a child whenever he was being a 'naughty little boy' and Severus felt no remorse for them when he had, apparently, snapped and slit his father's throat with a muggle shaving razor. Sure he had an unhealthy obsession with hair and was currently holding down and shaving the head of some low level sea-bitch-demon. Sure he was wasting time while Severus was on his last moments of life but the man was still his grandmother's nephew and he was family…

Severus let out a mental sigh. He was going to come back and haunt this man until his dying day if he died with the crazy bastard only feet away. Seriously, how much hair did he want from the bitch—

"Is this a scene from that dreaded Sleeping Beauty or, given the environment, should I call your Ariel?" a voice asked him so dryly that Severus was sure that he was hearing himself. He wished to turn his eyes up to see the person standing over him but he was in his last seconds and darkness clouded his vision. Severus stopped attempting to fight and simply allowed himself to fall into the cold arms of Death.

(**)

Katz really hated himself for always having a conscience. Honestly, he was too good of a man to be legal. He looked down at the man he had rescued and licked his lips. Well, he was quite delicious looking and he did need to be revived and who was to argue about the good ole Muggle way? Katz got onto his knees and opened the man's mouth, tilting back his head and pushing air into the man's lungs, being careful to not get involved in dipping into the surprisingly sweet mouth. Then he sat up and pushed at the man's chest, pumping the water out before repeating the process. He only hoped that he didn't break a rib in his inex—

"Well, hello," he purred as the man coughed, water erupting from his lips and onto the wooden floor. The man thoroughly ignored him, continuing to expel the water from his poor lungs. Katz nodded with satisfaction and caressed the totem that he stole back from that touchy demon bitch. It was in the shape of a cat and he was really quite fond of it especially since it held the ingredients to feed his beautiful loves.

"Where am I?" a voice rasped and Katz looked down. Oh yes, the stranger with the sweet mouth that he had saved only moments ago or, in other words, his new pet. A smirk slid across Katz's lips and he bent down, picking up the light man which gained an immediate reaction.

"Take your disgusting hands off me, you brute!" the man hissed, onyx narrowing with a fire that should have burned the purple-red haired man but Katz was a rather cold individual that could completely ignore such nasty comments because he was sure that his comments were just as nasty if not more so. The man struggled a bit harder but stiffened as Katz pretended to lose his grip and drop the man which would have led to serious pain especially since they were now climbing stairs.

"It saddens me when I save someone's life from certain death and they repay me with such nasty insults," he sighed, fake hurt coloring his vocal cords. He liked this man in his arms. It wasn't often that he met someone that was of legal age that he could hold like this considering the fact that he was a rather skinny individual himself. It was rather nice to—

"Well now…" Katz looked down at his hand which now had an impressive teeth ring. Okay, so he should not have caressed the man's face during his journey but his skin was rather soft and those onyx eyes were captivating. He was shocked that he hadn't been blasted across the room but the man was quite weakened despite his attitude. Katz laid the thin individual down on the bed gently and gave him a suave smile that made women's knees weak and men's pants tight—he was quite the smooth man but it seemed that this did not work on this man. Oh, pity. Katz sighed and looked at his injured hand, "I wish you hadn't done that."

"I wish you had not molested me with your filthy hands. If I wanted to be pawed by some disgusting beast, I would have stayed with that wench," the man shot back hotly. Katz smirked and perched himself on the edge of the bed. It was the best bed in the entire building, lined with silks and the pillows were absolutely heavenly to touch and now there was a lovely man paler than lilies with a fiery temper and what seemed to be an acid tongue. He could only imagine what color those blue lips would turn once the man was fully recovered. Gods, he really did spoil himself. He pulled himself from the bed and went to a nearby closet, pulled out a thick quilt and piling it onto of the man. He wouldn't want his new pet to get a cold.

"You look quite familiar, what is your name?" Katz inquired as he pulled arranged the blankets onto the man to best guarantee that he had more than enough warmth.

"Do not think yourself clever—this information is being given because I have enough honor to recognize a Life Debt," the man stated first before settling on the pillows, "My name is Severus Snape."

"Severus… Snape… hm, where have I heard that name?" Katz placed a finger to his lip, tapping onto it.

"My mother was Eileen," Severus did not know why he was trying to help the man recognize him although he knew for a fact that he hadn't met this man. He would remember anyone with such a unique 'illness' as the rest of the Wizarding World would see it although why this man was considered 'ill' when he had full control over himself was a mystery that Severus did not want to solve. The main purpose was to find a way to contact Regulus and Courage—make sure that the latter was alright and if he wasn't, there would be Hell to pay. He stared back at the blank faced man, yellow-golden eyes staring back at him with an unblinking stare that only a cat could do.

He sighed and brought up another magical family member. Severus was quite smart and the only person that could help him from the witch's den would have to have magic and, with the man's condition, there wasn't a possible way that he had gone to Hogwarts with him so a family member was the only option.

"If you have ever been to the States, you might have known my grandmother, Muriel Baggs," Severus sighed, shivering even under the pile of blankets. He pulled them close under his chin, forsaking pride for warmth. His grandmother's name seemed to have rang the bell that he had been looking for because, quite suddenly, his eyes narrowed and he was hissing like some feline that had its tail stepped on. Severus merely raised a brow at the behavior and rolled his eyes.

"You are related to that infuriating old woman?" the man spat. Severus continued to stare at him, now his expression related an unstaring cat that was either looking at a fly it wanted to squash or an axe murderer that it still didn't give a damn about. The man calmed down after a few moments of silence and ran a long fingered hand through his red and purple hair.

"I assume that you have met my grandmother?" he said dryly, a smirk gracing his lips.

"Met her?" the man scoffed, folding his long arms and Severus was sure that the man was truly pouting like a child, "It is because of her that I have remained in second place for _years _and I am quite tired of it. Second place is no place at all in my opinion."

Severus stared at the man for a long time before letting out a sigh. He was not going to ask because truly, the stupidity would make his brain implode, he was absolutely sure of it. Instead he stared at the man with his unnerving eyes.

"You did not give me your name and, quite frankly, I do not like the disadvantage," Severus chattered out, just realizing that he was still in his soaking wet clothes. Oh this idiot thought it a good idea to molest him and stick his tongue in his mouth but he didn't see the chance to strip him of his clothes with the excuse that he might catch pneumonia? He truly attracted the dim ones.

"Ah yes," the man stood to his feet, the devious charm coming full blown once more. The man was quite attractive, Severus could admit that but that did not mean that he didn't want to put his foot down the man's throat. He gave a deep bow, keeping his yellow eyes connecting with his, "I am Cathair Nicolai Katz. Welcome to Katz Hotel."

(**)

"What are we gonna DOOOOO!?" Courage howled, pulling at his hair as he bounced on his toes. He had stopped running around in circles after tripping on the sprawled out legs of Regulus Black. The young man was really worse for wear, his breath leaving in shallow pants and his eyes almost glazed completely over but it was obvious that the black haired man found him quite amusing, a smile twitching on his lips every so often. The man reached forward and grabbed the small child, pulling him close to his body in a tight hug. Courage seemed to appreciate this, grabbing hard onto his shirt and shivering against him. Regulus winced as he used his back and legs to stand up, the glass still embedded in his skin shifting and digging deeper. He knew of a Hotel close by—one that had only been open for a month or so.

"Courage, you need not panic. Severus Snape is a very clever man and I am sure that, at this moment, he is resting and preparing to find us soon. What I need is for you to act natural. I cannot recall if we are in a muggle area but shifting your hair color or running about as you do will cause unneeded attention onto us… do you understand?" Regulus looked at the small metamorphmagus.

The child let out a small whine before nodding, his changing features settling until he resembled a mini-Severus Snape. Regulus sighed, the child really missed the wizard and he could not say that he did not see a way that Severus could have escaped the demon. As soon as he hit the water, he would have begun dying, his lungs slowly and painfully filling with water while the beast waited for him to die and, if he was lucky, the wench would have waited for him to die before devouring him. Guilt slammed into Regulus, this was partially his fault. Had he better control over his body and mind, this would not have happened or, at the very least, Severus would not have been dragged under as he was.

"I'll be brave for Russ… the things I do for love," Courage smiled shakily at the younger Black brother. Regulus chuckled lightly and ruffled his hair, groaning as the child's wait rested solely on one arm. Courage wiggled until the man let him onto the ground and then placed the man's uninjured arm on a small shoulder and resting his other arm on the man's waist. He wasn't really doing anything but it did give Regulus enough strength to make it to the hotel. Courage looked up at the large, glowing sign.

**KATZ HOTEL- GUESTS NEVER LEAVE**

It proclaimed with a pair of cat ears on the top and what seemed to be a Cheshire cat grin on the bottom. Courage had a very bad feeling but Regulus needed help and the sooner he was better, the sooner they could look for Russ. So they enter the establishment, hardly noting the 'NO DOGS ALLOWED' sign at the door.

(**)

The blond haired man looked away from his love that had finally stopped screaming and was now just whining under him, lying limply as he finished ridding the silky locks from her head. She was so sweet and coy with him but a frown graced his lips for a moment, coaxing a whimper from her lips and a renewed struggle to get away. Aw, she was scared that he was angry at her. A smile came to his lips and he pulled out a razor. He would never be angry at her but…

"Oh my love, you tried to kill my aunt's only grandson. I say you tried to kill him, you did," the man allowed his green eyes to rove over her, placing the razor against her neck. He hadn't been this naughty in a long time, always holding himself at bay to just cutting the locks but now… now he had to punish her for being so very naughty.

"I'm sorry Fred. Please I—I didn't know," she begged under him, her green eyes trying to look so innocent and appeal to his better nature which was insane. Every nature of him was his better nature. Fred smile only grew in brightness.

"He was going to be your dinner and really, you couldn't have picked one thinner. I wish it wasn't so. I wish, I say I wish I could let you go. However… you were so _naughtyyyy_!" he purred and brought the razor down. The water around them became murky with her blood but luckily, he had sealed the purple locks already and really, he didn't need his eyes to leave this place. He sighed and stood up, leaving the dying lower-demon to die there. If he hadn't stopped to indulge himself, he wouldn't have to do this but, he had so now the search was to begin again. Fred shuddered with delight.

Despite what he always said, Fred did so love being naughty.

(**)

"Sirius, where are you going?"

The animagus let out a short shriek, slapping his hands over his mouth as he whirled around. There, sitting in a chair (in the middle of the night as if it were the most natural thing to do), was one of his best friends, Remus Lupin. He stepped away from the door and approached the tawny haired man, looking at him careful. He wasn't in a bad mood which meant he could possibly get out of this with a bit of effort.

"Um… I was just gonna get some fresh air. You know, clear my head up some," Sirius grinned his award winning smile. Remus was definitely not impressed.

"So you wouldn't happen to be looking for his brother to make sure that he is alright?" Remus raised a brow, looking very much like Snape. The slightly older male stared at his friend, wondering how he was so easy to figure out. He hadn't been that obvious and his dislike of his little brother showed quite often in explosive bursts more often than not but, after talking to Snape… well, he was actually worried about his brother. It had been hours of Sirius pacing back and forth, ignoring the words that continued to tumble out of Lily's mouth, as he pondered on the whereabouts of his brother. He hadn't seen the younger man since the death of their parents, Regulus getting a different, smaller house but still… that didn't mean that he should see Snivellus more often than his brother (okay, so he hadn't known it was Snivellus under that cloak but still…)

"Listen Remmie, he's a complete arse but he's still my brother and I gotta make sure he's okay… y'know?" Sirius pleaded with his friend. He knew that no one was supposed to leave to make sure that none of them was the spy that snitched on Snape but he had to check on him. He had to find Regulus.

"Oh Sirius…" Remus bit his lip and Sirius was surprise to see a shimmer of distrust in the golden eyes.

"Come on Remmie, it's not like a spy for Voldemort or some crazy shite like that. I'm just going to find my brother and drag his arse here, kicking and screaming if I have to," Sirius reasoned. Remus stiffened and it was then that he realized why his friend looked so distrustful. He believed that it was Sirius that was the spy. He thought that Sirius was going to report to the Dark Lord about Snape really being the spy and saving his brother's skin. Sirius let out a gasped laugh that sounded a bit hysterical then he liked.

"How can I trust that that is the truth?" Remus whispered, confirming Sirius' fears. The eldest Black alive let out a sigh and quickly pulled out his wand, stunning his best friend.

"I'm sorry Remus but I don't have time to explain this to you," he murmured, arranging Remus carefully on the couch so that he was more comfortable. He turned his back on his friend and went off into the night, pulling his cloak's hood onto his head, unaware of the sad blue eyes watching him stride down the sidewalk before turning in a circle and disappearing.

(**)

The End

Ah yes, I'm finally done. I think it was my focus on my horror one-shots that caused me to stall on this story but now it's done and this is done! Yay! Um, I hope you guys liked this. I hope you'll review and… are there any couples that people are hoping for?

I'll do the craziest ones if you just ask (please, I hate putting thoughts into pairings). Fred could use someone, Sirius, Regulus, Remus… other people that don't have someone but I just can't think of them at the moment. I must admit that I have a plan for dear Courage (it's not that hard to guess once one thinks the most cliché thing to do).

If you liked the witch hag, I'm sorry but she was too naughty to keep. Fred just couldn't forgive her.


	10. Marvelous I say!

When you pronounce the fake name I gave Katz it (to my understanding) should sound like Kat-hay-yer. As a side note: Katz isn't a pervert, it's just that he doesn't give a damn and does whatever he wants (like a real cat).

Warning: a little bit of violence, some language

P.S. I just recently watched a Courage the Cowardly Dog episode and I just noticed how freaking disturbing that damn show was! How was that a kid's cartoon!? I mean, I'd let my kids watch it because it's awesome but dammit, it's scary.

(**)

Severus reluctantly accepted the sharp nailed hand of his savior, still rather peeved at the man for not taking off his clothes and dumping him in a hot bath in the first place. He felt the skilled fingers slowly pull each item of clothing off of him, hands lingering a few seconds too long. If he were honest with himself, he'd admit that he liked the attention but Severus was a master of denial when times 'called' for it.

"If you continue with that journey, I will be forced to tear your fingers off," Severus warned the red-purple haired man as the fingers caressed his clothed ass. Instead of being scared as Severus wished, the man simply smirked and tore the underwear in half. An admittedly unmanly squeal erupted from Severus' lips as he placed his hands over his manhood and a hot blush spread across his cheeks. A moment of complete shyness comes over him before being overrun by anger. He knew the clothing had to be removed and he was a bit on the weaker side at the moment but was it completely necessary to destroy an item of his clothing?

"Oops," Katz purred with hooded eyes, still not being affected by the hot glare that the young Potions Master that clearly told Cathair to find a dagger and stab himself in the abdomen fifteen times then die of blood loss all the while Severus stood above him and laughed at his slow death. Or maybe that is just what he hoped happened to that water bitch. Ugly wench, stealing from him… Katz threw her out of his mind and guided the man into the large bathroom some doors down.

"I must warn you. If you are to leave any room without me, my children will attack and then eat you," Katz added in a thoughtful, unimportant hum as he turned on the taps. Oh how he loved magic, especially when it would keep bath water from ever going cold or becoming dirty. He picked up the thin, tall man and placed him in the water fast enough that Severus didn't have enough time to complain or squirm before the thankfully hot water wrapped around his painfully cold body.

"You give me this warning but do not tell me as to why you are leaving me or what your 'children' are," Severus kept his voice as clear as he possibly could when faced with such comfortable settings. He deserved a reward for such skills. Katz smirked lightly and ran a hand through the dirty black hair.

"Darling, if you wish is to be in my presence, all I require you to do is ask," Katz told him in a sickly sweet tone. Severus didn't even justify his teasing statement with what was becoming a rather infamous glare. Instead he simply drew away from his sharp nailed hand, picking up a bottle of shampoo to cover the fact that he wasn't very comfortable being touched. Katz stared at him for a moment and suddenly nodded to himself. Yes he would make sure that the man got over that because Katz loved to touch and be touched by his lovers.

"As to why I have to leave… I have dinner—I mean, _patrons_ to cater. I will be back to spoil you once more, my pet."

(**)

Ah yes, Katz believed that he found himself a right prize. He licked his lips as he thought of the lovely morsel bathing behind the door he had just closed and for once, this state of mind was not revolving around feeding his precious babies. Oh, now that he thought about it, the people in room three-fifty should be nothing more than a pile of clothing at the moment. He needed to collect that to donate to a charity to counteract the bad karma he was building up.

Katz stretched his arms high above his head and let out a tired yawn. Saving lives was such a hard job, he should reward himself by running around in his other form that people often considered a curse. He didn't see how such a graceful, beautiful creature could be considered a curse but people were quite stupid in his opinion (this didn't count the pale being within his bathroom). In fact, it was that pale being that had guessed his nature without him having to display power or let out some unnatural (in stupid human terms) noise. Katz couldn't wait for a time in which he could show off and show the wizard his form in all its glory.

In fact, he should go on and change right now but… no. No, no, he had to take care of some things, make sure that all of his children ate and if some were pushed to the side then that meant he'd have to use compulsion on some unsuspecting sap or simply let some of his babies run out into the town and munch on whatever came about. He was feeling particularly lazy.

"At least my children are not messy eaters," Katz noted with a sweep of the bedroom. All that remained were the clothing as he had predicted. He went over and picked up at the rose cross-stitch 'bell bottoms' he swore had gone out of style decade before but it was possible that he wasn't all up with the fashions. He sighed and folded them along with the heart shirt and the men jeans and t-shirt much too large for the mere slip of a boy he had seen wearing it. Whatever, it was going with the rest of the—

**DING! **

A slow smile spread across Katz's lips. It seemed as though his little darlings would be getting desert.

(**)

There were a lot of things that scared Courage. There were a _lot _of things that provoked fear in the poor, abused child that other people didn't think frightening (but they totally were!). If there was a book written on the things that frightened Courage, it would take years to write and volumes to cover each one. It would fill libraries with the many fears that consumed one Courage Dogg. It would—

Okay, the author digresses seeing as the point has been made. Courage has many fears however none of his fears compare to the man standing in front of him. Firstly the man's eyes speak of disgust and just plain, undiscriminating hatred coupled with annoyance as he glanced between him and Regulus. Secondly, the man is extremely tall—taller than Russ and rather thin although Courage had a vague feeling that this man wasn't weak. His hair is a dark red with stripes of purple going through them and it's oddly not weird looking on this already frightening, yellow eyed odd man.

"How may I help you?" His voice comes out in a purr that speaks of boredom and hidden delight. Courage doesn't like that hidden delight because he knew it would hurt them even more than they were hurt. He curled under Regulus as he drew the yellow eyes once more, trying his hardest to shove himself through the man's skin but he stopped as he heard a pained grunt leave the young man's lips.

"Sorry, Reg—sorry," he whimpered quietly. Regulus started to run a few fingers through his hair as reassurance and focused on the man. The man looked carefully blink, his handsome features a smooth board that left nothing to be guessed although, given the disdainful look he was receiving, he knew that the man probably didn't like people in general… or he could see the blood he was dripping onto his carpets.

"My nephew and I need a room—one bed is fine. Do you accept galleons or would you prefer pounds?" Regulus half whispered, trying to stand straight but he was in such pain and he was beginning to believe that he was going to faint because of his wounds if he didn't soon sit down and tend to them. He was only glad that this man was not a simple Muggle even though he had not known and simply taken a guess.

"Judging by your state of… dress, I would say that you do not have either on you," the man smirked, folding his arms as he swept his gaze over Regulus' form for the third time, this time as a clear tactic of mockery. Regulus sighed and dug into his pocket. The last thing he wanted to do was use this card especially since it could be traced but he was in desperate binds and had a real chance of dying and leaving a small child all on his own. This was an emergency that he hoped wouldn't come back to bite him directly in the ass.

"Here," he muttered, giving the card over. The man smiled a little curling smile that spoke of the old canary and bird idiom that Regulus honestly did not believe that he is steady enough to remember.

"Considering your condition and… baggage," the red-purple haired man cast a glance at the trembling youth by Regulus' side, "I suggest taking the elevator up to the third floor and do try not to sully my floors even more so."

Regulus was sorely tempted to throw a much needed bird at the man, dislocate his fucking finger if it made all the difference but he was so tired and in so much pain, he wasn't even sure if his dirty look was more than a kitten trying to be a lion. Nonetheless, Regulus stumbles onto the elevator, tucking Courage close to himself and promising himself that he would do his best to protect the child, for his own safety more so than Courage's. Regulus could only imagine the kind of pain that Severus could and would put him through if he found out that the child had been harmed.

(**)

Ugh. Katz absolutely hated children. If he could, he'd make a correction to the sign on the door so that it would say 'No Dogs/Kids Allowed. Yes, they are the same thing'. They were such annoying buggers that shouldn't be allowed around civilized company until they were not long annoying children but angst-ridden teenagers. Katz shook his head and pondered if he should offer assistance to the obviously injured man. He seemed worse for wear despite the front he had attempted to put up.

This thought lasted five seconds before Katz shook his head and turned away from the desk. Nope, he had done is kind deed for the evening besides, the man was a wizard—he could handle himself. Katz hummed to himself as he realized that it was time to go back to the black haired angel waiting for him in his warm tub. He wondered if the man had fallen asleep within its warm grasp or, if Katz found himself quite lucky, then he'd be standing up just as Katz opened the door. That way, he'd walk in on the sight of that soapy water sliding down that lean body oh-so-perfectly. Maybe the man would blush red, lighting up those pale cheeks with some color. Katz felt a purr erupt from his chest and his pants tightened with his lust.

Yes, he hoped he was so lucky.

(**)

Now that Sirius found himself walking to his brother's house seeing as the place had powerful wards that Sirius was not allowed to apparate through, he had to question his idiocy. Now, this was not something that happened very often because Sirius rarely did anything _too_ stupid to warrant a scolding from what Sirius liked to call his 'Ravenclaw Sirius' voice which was the part of him that actually thought things through.

However, the set of actions he had committed was, apparently, taking the cake at the moment and he was currently speaking to said Ravenclaw Sirius as he fought against the shrubbery to get to his brother's home. **'Let me get this straight… you, Lord Sirius Black, the Head of a family known to enjoy the darker things of life **_**stunned**_** an Order Member and disappeared into the night without attempting to explain the situation?' **Sirius winced at the word choice which made his actions seem very, very stupid and nodded sullenly as if he weren't talking to himself.

'**Now, let me ask you this, oh genius Golden Gryffindor,' **Ravenclaw Sirius spat, sounding much too like Snivellus for Sirius to be comfortable, '**What happens if the attack is called off of Regulus?' **Well… then his little brother would be safe, right? And it would just be ole Snivelly that's in danger but what was the problem with that. It wasn't like Sirius liked the… oh. **'Oh!? Oh! That is all you have to say for yourself!? If the attack is called off of Regulus, for any reason, and put on the sole spy of the Order then everyone will put you as the spy for Voldemort! YOU'LL BE LABELED A TRAITOR YOU IDIOT!' **

No, no… that's not possible. He was Sirius Black, a known Dark Arts hater. He was an Auror for Godric's sake—one that couldn't be bribed mostly because he had his own money, morals, and his own dirt on a lot of high up people. Besides, his friends would never believe that he was the one to reveal their Mystery Man—he hadn't even known that it was Snivellus and certainly hadn't thought his brother stupid enough to join the Dark Lord. However the doubt that Ravenclaw Sirius had put within him festered in the back of his mind and he found himself praying that his friends had faith in him. He prayed that they wouldn't turn their backs just because he wanted to find his brother.

"What in the name of Merlin…?" Sirius gaped as he threw open the door to his brother's home. It was… ransacked if one wanted to put it nicely and completely destroyed if one was telling the truth. Sirius pulled out his wand and carefully stepped over fallen papers and overturned items. Who in the Hell throws an armchair into the hallway?

Sirius only hoped that his brother wasn't here when this happened because if the perpetrator didn't get him, the heart attack over his items surely would have. Sirius shook his head, wiping the grin off his face despite the brief joy the joke had brought him. Regulus would murder someone before he allowed them to destroy something of his—

"OOF!" Sirius grunted as he was suddenly knocked flat onto his back, a tight grip latching onto his wand hand and stealing the slim wood from his fingers. His breath was slapped out of him as a weight landed on his stomach, slim fingers curling onto his shoulders to hold him down much firmer than the light weight suggested.

"What is this that I spy with my little eye? Why it's a lost Black lamb! A Sirius Black lamb, I say." a chuckling voice purred out in dark tones. Sirius blinked, trying to clear his vision and found himself nose to nose with a skinny blond man with glowing green eyes and a smile wide enough to rip the man's cheeks but the eyes held no mirth. In fact the thin man seemed rather disturbed with a hint of anger to make Sirius squirm a bit more.

"What are you doing? Who are you? Get off of me! Where is Regulus, what have you done to him!?" Sirius demanded angrily as he struggled under the firm weight. Honestly, this guy didn't even seem to weigh half of Sirius' muscled body did so why was it so hard to make him move?

"So many questions and yet no answers," the man stated coldly suddenly, the smile sliding from his face and the mirth gone from his eyes. It was in this moment that Sirius felt true fear for the first time in his life. It was a fear that hit him harder than facing down the wand of a Death Eater that could hit him with a dark spell. How did this simple man with no wand in his hand frighten him so much just by frowning? Sirius didn't have time to delve on this for the smile was suddenly back full force and the man shifted until he was pinning Sirius with his entire body by lying down. It was then that Sirius noticed that the man was soaked to the bone and getting him wet.

"My name, I say my name is _Fred_ and if not for Severus, I say you'd be _dead_. You see, Severus and Regulus have both been very… _naaaughty_. It's not what I have done that you must ask but, rather what did that dead Death Eater do! A spy, a spy, I say, they think your brother but we both know that's not true," this Fred person purred, his hot breath fanning over Sirius' face.

"Snivellus, you know that git? Who is he to you?" Sirius grunted, wiggling once more though he paused as he suddenly found himself looking into narrowed green eyes. Fuck, he just made the crazy man angry even though the smile did not go anywhere unlike last time.

"Snivellus you say, Snivellus you spit and yet you forget—it's he that is saving your life. You see he's my second cousin, I say he's my grandmother's only grandson!" Fred exclaimed but there was something in his voice that told Sirius he did not have many times to slip up and insult the black haired man again. Sirius went silent for a moment, channeling Ravenclaw Sirius in an effort to not die by the hand of the obviously insane rhyming man. He hadn't even known that Snape had family, not that he had ever bothered to ask when throwing insults at the dark natured bastard.

"If you're looking for Snape then why are you here?" Sirius asked, this time politely and without moving around beneath the light man. Ravenclaw Sirius insisted that they needed to get away from this crazy bastard.

"My wayward cousin and your brother travel together until my love, my purple dove took him. Before I was finished with my love, another took him and my search has begun once more and it this is such a bore. However, I love my cousin so even though he is so naaaughty," Fred answered easily with a wistful smile. Sirius had a feeling that this 'purple dove' of Fred's did not have a very nice time with the man and whatever he had done to her would probably make Sirius cringe so he refrained from asking.

"Wait… Snape couldn't have been taken! He's with the Order, resting after running from a witch doctor," Sirius pointed out, not feeling a need to pretend that the Order didn't exist. They were supposed to be a convert little group that fought Voldemort without putting families in danger but another instinct told him that this man probably didn't care about anything except his disgruntled cousin.

"No, no you are wrong. You see, he left without a sound. He'll always leave unless tied to the ground. I have to find him and bring him to a safe place lest my Aunt be without a grandson. No clues here, in this house. None with you or that Death Eater. I say, it's time for me to go, time to go back to the snow," Fred muttered the last part as he suddenly pushed off of Sirius and to his feet. He tossed the man his wand, obviously not frightened by what Sirius could do with it and began to walk away.

"Wait, Fred!" Sirius shouted and immediately felt the need to punch himself in the face. What was he doing!? Ravenclaw Sirius screamed and pounded at his head to shut his mouth and let the madman walk away but he shut that part of his brain off. This man may be a bit insane but he was looking for Snape and he could obviously handle himself.

"Yes, you call?" Fred turned, wild blond hair swaying with his quick and quite dramatic movements. Yup, definitely a family member of Snape the Drama Queen.

"You're all wet and you smell like fish. If… if what you say is true then Regulus will be with Snape considering that it's his best bet to living. I need to find my little brother so… we could work together," Sirius offered, almost pleading. The blond haired man went silent for a brief moment, thinking as he observed him.

"I must say, that you have a marvelous plan! Marvelous I say!" he cheered in his rolling tones, striding until he was extremely close to Sirius. The Gryffindor had to briefly wonder what the deal was with the acid green eyes staring at his hair.

Whatever, he would simply brush it as another Snape trait.

(**)

The End

I'm not sure if Sirius/Fred is going to be seen but it's not intentional (I still haven't decided if I want to put Fred with anyone and if I do, who?). Fred is so difficult to write for… at least he is for someone with very little creativity.

I hope you liked this chapter, comment and all that good stuff.


	11. I can't do it

Don't you dare watch Courage the Cowardly Dog to catch me on my crappy characterization! Fred is way too dark but I figured him to be a creepier Joker with rhyming issues. I have no excuse for Katz but hey, no one needs to know that this is OOC!

Enjoy, my lovely little sugar plums!

(**)

The view they had was so pretty in Courage's eyes. He could see the snow falling over the small town, blanketing it in pure white. He smiled a little bit and thought about throwing small balls of snow around as he had seen other children do with either their friends or their laughing parents, both of which Courage never had. A small whine came to Courage's throat; he wished Russ was with him. He missed the man so much even though he was relatively sure that the other wouldn't have a 'snowball fight' with him.

"Courage, I need your assistance over here," Regulus called out to him. Courage jumped a bit and looked over his shoulder to see the wizard that had saved him. The older man had taken off his damaged robes and shirt, displaying his raw, bloodied back littered with glass, dirt and rubble. It looked absolutely horrible and Courage was hard pressed to not stumble back as the scent of hot iron raced through his nose.

"You hurt… lot," Courage stuttered out instead, trying not to resort back into his language of gibberish. Regulus let out a dry bark of a laugh that reminded the currently black haired boy of Sirius Black, the meanie that kept calling Russ nasty names.

"That's an understatement but your guardian has been very thorough with his supplies so I'll be fine. I need you to carefully—_carefully_ take out as much debris as you can. Do not pull away if I make noises because it is liable to hurt me either way," Regulus instructed of the small boy as he handed over a small metal instrument. Courage took the tweezers into his hand and nodded, his hands quite firm despite the flashing hair colors that told him that the boy was quite scared. He was going to help Reggie as best as possible and then maybe they could find Russ.

(**)

Sirius blinked at the blond man standing several feet away from him. He was smiling that big, large creepy smile that showed all of his teeth and yet somehow didn't make his luminescent green eyes narrow. He wanted to look away, he truly, really did but there was something about those creepy eyes and that creepy fucking smile that held him in one spot.

"You… want some clothes?" Sirius said slowly. Okay, it might have been the fact that Snape's cousin was also completely naked in his brother's kitchen and seemed to be cooking. The man hummed under his breath and turned back to the stove without a single word to him. Yes, this man was definitely a relative of Snape's because there wasn't anyone in the world that could pull off this level of creepy.

"Do you normally cook naked or is this your way of showing that you like me?" Sirius continued, trying to ward off some of the awkwardness by joking although it seemed that it was only him that was uncomfortable. Fred seemed perfectly fine in his skin, moving his hips minutely to a beat that only he could hear while bobbing his head to what seemed to be a completely different beat. It was quite disconcerting (creepy) and he wished that he could say he wouldn't abide by it but this creepy man was his only chance to get to Regulus fast enough.

"Well you _are_ very handsome and your locks well kept," Fred suddenly said, long fingers darting to turn down the fire. Sirius' body gave an odd jerk and his mind was warring with itself on whether or not he should take the compliment and flirt back or run for the high hills while screaming at the top of his lungs. Both were dangerous and rather extreme options so he simply began to edge to the side, never taking his eyes off those twinkling green eyes that followed his movements like a hawk. Those eyes made him want to put another layer of clothing on as though they were looking at his naked flesh (more like put a hat on as they were eyeing his hair like a tasty treat).

"So… what's for dinner?" Sirius kept going. He had to talk his way back onto normal ground if only because he didn't like the look he was getting or the fact that his eyes honestly did not want to stay on the tanned face. They continually dropped down to see what the man was packing but he couldn't do that! Not with this creepy bastard that was Snivel—Snape's family member. It was at least fifteen types of wrong never mind the fact that the man was, well a man! Sirius believed in free love (**'No you just stick your prick in anything willing with two legs!**' Ravenclaw Sirius sneered) but what he didn't believe in was getting freaky with anything having to do with that greasy bastard that dragged his little brother into this shitty mess. So he kept his eyes stubbornly on that tanned face.

"I make an excellent stir-fry," he grinned, tilting his head with a far off look in his eye and his hands clasped together by his cheek. Sirius shuddered minutely and quickly left the kitchen for another shower. Not to be redundant but Fred was fucking _creepy_.

(**)

Severus wanted to sleep. There was nothing more than his sore, beaten body wanted to do than sleep. He leaned back and closed his eyes, mind shutting off at his command and his entire body relaxed. The warm water around him acted as a blanket, the bubbles shielded him and he was almost in heaven. He sighed and relaxed even more, shifting into a comfortable position and allowing his body to heal from the trauma he had put it through.

Vaguely he felt long arms holding behind his legs and his shoulders, lifting him from the warm water that had become his haven and into the cooling air. He protested slightly but could not will his body to awaken more despite his need to defend his personal space. He opened his eyes for a brief moment as he felt his bare body lowered onto a cloud of softness and comfort. A sigh of pleasure left his parted lips and he nearly moaned as a cover was raised up to his chin.

"Thank…" he fell into the arms of his blank dreams once more.

Katz looked down at the sleeping man with sharp, glowing eyes. He truly was a sight to behold and he was all his. This dark angel with his pale skin and dark eyes and hair was all his and always would be. He reached down and gently pulled his fingers through the dark, wet hair spread across the silk sheets. Even if Severus Snape didn't realize it at the present time, he was still belonged to Katz and, admittedly, Katz belonged to him.

The red-purple haired man smirked briefly and leaned down, stealing a secret kiss from the bloodless lips before he straightened with a crack. He would leave the man to dream his dreams and, in the meantime, he would go feed his children.

They must be so hungry for some flesh.

(**)

Courage curled in the middle of the large bed, his wide dark eyes staring at the heavily injured man that was being chased around like Russ. After he had taken out as much glass as he could, the man had taken a very careful bath, the blood tinting the water pink for a very long time then soaked some bandages in a yellow liquid before having Courage help him wrap his torso as neatly as possible. Then he had taken a potion and dropped off to sleep after a weary 'goodnight' to Courage. The metamorphmagus stared at the relaxed face, silently trying to will the man awake so that they could go out looking for Russ but it didn't work.

The boy sighed and slipped off the bed. Maybe he would feel better walking or something. He didn't really want to awaken Regulus so he should leave and let the man rest. He pulled the door open and looked out. The hallways were empty which made him very, very happy. There was nothing to scare him and nothing for him to run from. That was a relief.

Courage slipped out into the hallway and slowly began to his walk with no destination in mind. Instead his mind was still on Russ. He had been taken by that evil witch that looked like a pretty girl in his eyes but no, she wasn't and she had stolen away his Russ to do any number of horrible things to him. Regulus seemed really confident that Severus was fine and had gotten away with little to no damage but Courage wasn't as sure.

He believed in Russ but that thing could have done lots of things to him or if he did get away, he could be super sick. He could be super, super hurt and not able to protect himself from any number of mean, nasty people. There were a lot of people that would hurt him especially if they knew how different Russ was… Courage had a lot of experience with those people.

"Oh no," Courage looked up and realized that he was _very_ lost. He wasn't even sure what floor he was on seeing as there were no signs on the doors and the elevator wasn't even there. He must be extremely high up. The young boy trotted over to the nearest window and looked out the dusty glass, shocked to see that he was extremely high up. He was so high up that he couldn't make any of the people out, just the snow and little black dots. This wasn't a problem, it really wasn't! He knew that they were on the third floor and that—

What was that!? Courage paused as he heard a scuffling sound. His hears strained to catch—there it was again! Courage whipped his head around quickly and slowly inched towards the sound. He had learned that if he tried to ignore his fear and simply walk away, it would plague him even worse and give him nightmares of people standing over him, waving burning sticks that smelled horrible and slowly forcing his skinny body to hover over a fire with only a large circle burning under him to do away with the evil inside him.

Courage felt tears pool in his eyes. He had gotten the worse beating after that ritual because it plagued him for weeks afterwards and he… it still hadn't turned him 'normal'. Courage shook his little head to get rid of the yelling voices and the phantom feel of the belt coming down harder and harder. He shouldn't, couldn't… _wouldn't_ think like that! Ever since Russ had taken him in and been so nice to him, he had tried to push all of his past into the back of his mind but sometimes it liked to spring out on him and remind him that he wasn't always treated well, he wasn't normal. Then Russ's voice would come and explain to him over and over that it was his magic that had protected him. His magic hadn't let the flames hurt him, make his bruises go away to leave a slight ache and never let him starve to death. It was there for him and that didn't make him a demon because there were loads like him.

He shook his head again and slowly turned the knob to the door, nearly whimpering with fear as it actually turned. He had hoped it would be locked so he could just turn around and run all the way back to his room and hide under Regulus' limp body. Alas, it wasn't meant to be so, as quietly as he could, he opened the door and peeked within it.

It was only due to the thick clump of self-preservation that resided within Courage that he didn't scream and faint right at that moment. It was said clump that saved him from a grisly death for within the room were spiders and not ANY spiders, no it was a colony of huge spiders that were bigger than any spider that Courage had ever seen. These spiders were much taller than him and probably taller than his Russ.

They scuttled around the large room, some on large webs and others breaking open a web covered thing to reveal a struggling person. Courage slapped a hand over his mouth and backed away as quickly as he could. He had to find Reggie! He had to—

"Ouch!" Courage fell to the ground as he ran headlong into someone. He groaned and blinked up to see the owner with his glowing eyes and his look over utter contempt. He wanted to let out a scream or bring his attention to the obviously man eating spiders just a couple of door down but he had a bad feeling that the man already knew about them.

"And just what are _you_ doing in this part of the hotel?" the man purred darkly, eyes sharp and piercing.

"Uh, uh…" Courage made some hand motions and then darted away. He couldn't speak in his gibberish or it would hold him up. He had to go warn Regulus. He had to get him up and get them out of there! If he didn't then they'd be eaten by giant spiders!

"Reggie!" Courage launched himself on the man. He shook him by the shoulders as hard as he could but it wasn't working. The man was out cold and didn't seem even close to waking up. He had to get him out of here but there wasn't a way in any life that he could lift the man up! Courage pulled at his hair and just barely stopped himself from howling out loud.

What was he going to DO!?

"RUSS!"

(**)

Severus launched up in the bed, body covered in sweat and heart attempting to break free from his body. He whipped his head around, panic still causing his mind to hear the screams and search frantically for the little boy calling for him. Slowly Severus noticed that no one was in the room with him, Courage was not crying out for him, and the tears that were silently running down his cheeks were all for naught. He let out a tired sigh and pulled his legs to his chest, bowing his head into his knees. He stayed in that position for what felt like hours, his thoughts running about his mind.

He was worried for the boy even though there was no evidence that even suggested that Courage was in danger. Regulus wasn't a complete idiot, he had lived on the run just as long as he had so obviously he had some tricks up his sleeve but what if the man thought that Courage was too much baggage and left him? No, no… Regulus knew that Severus would kill him if he didn't die after this trial.

"Hello pet," Cathair purred from the door way. Severus uncurled and tossed the man a glare but he didn't actually say anything. He was tired and even though the incessant need to begin his search for the little boy tittered away at his mind, he couldn't force his body to do so. He had only slept for maybe an hour and he needed much more to be just at fifty percent.

"… and then you screamed in wild abandon as I slammed into your prostate." Severus snapped his head towards the man, confusion and shock drawn on his face. What in all of the Hells was that idiot talking about!? Of course Severus asked, trying to glare beyond the light blush that tickled his cheeks and nose.

"You weren't listening to my _fascinating_ tale about the new clients but alas, it matters not," Katz shrugged and climbed onto the bed, crawling closer to Severus. The man was determined not to be cowed although this seemed to entertain the redhead more than put him off. He paused until their noses just touched and their breath mingled.

"What matters more to me is making that aforementioned fantasy coming true, my dear pet," Katz smirked seductively.

"What matters more to me is my personal space, you perverted beast," Severus countered with a smirk that wasn't seductive so much as cruel. Katz could honestly say that he was in firmly in love. If it wasn't for the subtle shivers that still ran down the thin body and the dark bags under the onyx eyes. It was clear to Katz that Severus needed more rest.

"Take your hands off me!" Severus demanded as his ankles were suddenly seized by deceptively strong hands and he was yanked hard enough to send him onto his back. The other climbed up over him then… he stretched out his body right next to him, forming him into an almost spooning position.

"You need more sleep then something to eat," Katz breathed into the exposed ear, burying his face in the freshly washed hair. Severus' face was bright red and his body stiff but slowly he relaxed against the warmth behind him. Unfortunately, the other was correct though he loathed admitting his limitations.

"This will never happen again," the paler of the two muttered sleepily before dropping off into a less than dreamless sleep. Katz chuckled and gently pulled his fingers through the knots that developed in the mass of black hair.

They would see about that, Katz felt another smirk come to his lips. He idly wondered how his guests were doing against his children.

(**)

Courage let out a shriek and used all of his strength to shove the chair under the door knob. The spiders were right outside the door! The scuttled and crowded around the wood, obviously trying to open it. The young boy backed away slowly, the chair wouldn't last long—that much he knew but what could he do. Regulus hadn't stirred even the slightest through Courage's screams, pleas and attacks.

"RUSS!" he cried to the heavens as though that would save him. Courage ran to the corner and shoved himself deep into it, bringing his knees to his chest and his hands to his ears. If he couldn't hear anything, if he couldn't it, maybe it would just go away!

"_Courage, don't give up!" _the voice sounded like Russ's but he knew that the man would never say something like that. He was much like the man named 'Computer'. _"Courage, stop being a dunderhead and _think_!" _that was better. It reminded him more of the taciturn uncle because Severus didn't speak to him like that but it was closer.

"What can I think about? It's hopeless," he whimpered into his knees. The door would give away soon, they would be there within minutes and his magic wasn't sparking to save them when he needed it the most. It wasn't fair.

"_There is always a way out of a situation such as this. If the door is closed and the vents are out of reach, I am sure that there is an open window… now climb out of it!" _Courage swallowed hard as he eyed the large window just a little to his right. He stood up and ran over to it, throwing it open to let in a huge gust of cold air. He was high up, way up and Courage knew that if he fell down he would die instantly. The boy let out a whimper and backed away slightly although he jumped as a piece of wood on the door went flying. If he didn't want to die right then, he would have to climb out and get to another room!

Wait, Regulus! Courage looked back at the man, there wasn't a way he could take him with him but if he could find help in enough time… the spiders obviously didn't eat the people right in the room, he had seen that they wrap them up in their webs. So he would have to leave and do it quickly lest they both be eaten.

"I'll be back, I promise," he whimpered to the man and threw his legs out. With a quiet noise, he slowly lowered his small feet onto the ledge, staring forward and resisting whatever urge to look down at his doom. He had to make it to another room and to do that, he had to start moving. He had to move his feet, let go of the window's edge and scoot until he hit the other corner.

NO! No, he couldn't do this! He was too scared. He had to get back inside and just hope that Regulus woke up at the very last moment to take them somewhere safe. Courage started to edge his way back into the hotel room with the tiniest movements. Why did Reggie have to take that potion that Russ made… oh, Severus… Courage paused.

If he and Reggie died, Russ would be heartbroken. He knew, despite all the buried voices that told him that Russ couldn't possibly care, that Severus cared very deeply for him. And he had just found Severus not even a full month ago; he wanted to be with him for longer! He couldn't give him up yet.

Courage narrowed his eyes and began to move along the ledge in the opposite direction of his window. He was going to get help because he loved Severus and he wanted to see him again. He would live for him and he would find him because he was just a little selfish and couldn't go without having that lovely warm—

"AHHH!" Courage screamed as he noticed the spiders were actually now coming towards him. They moved a little slower than he suspected they could due to the snow but they were intent on getting him as they came from both sides. With a whimper, Courage began to climb up, gripping the stone with suddenly sharper fingers. Oh, his magic was working for him again! He stared up in an effort to figure out which window and floor he should go to once he reached a floor. Even though he was young, Courage knew that he had no way to live if he chose a window that was locked. They were so close to him; he could almost feel their giant cinching jaws just missing his feet.

Then he saw it. Closer to the top floor there was a curtain floating gently in and out of a window, a red beacon of hope and salvation for the desperate boy. He needed to get to that window but did he have the strength? Sweat poured down his face and back, his clothes stuck to him and his fingers were getting tired. His poor muscles screamed in pain as he urged his body higher and higher and though adrenaline urged him to go faster, he could feel himself slowing down as the cold air of the night scraped at his poor, overworked lungs.

"I can't do it… I can't make it," he whimpered low under his breath, dark eyes staring up at the window. It seemed to have gotten further away the harder he reached for it. He closed his eyes, still climbing even as his arms began to shake with the effort of pulling his body up. "Please… please… please magic get me up there. Please magic, I want to see Russ. I want Russ and I want to get help for Reggie and I don't wanna get eaten by spiders… _please_."

Courage felt a pull at his navel and suddenly he wasn't pulling himself up stones but hanging by his long nails on the open window's ledge. He let out a cry that instantly got stuck in his throat and scrambled at the slippery sill until he finally pulled his aching body through and landed on the floor with a wet 'PLOP!' He sat panting for a long time, dark eyes gazing wearily up at the fluttering red curtains that grazed his body every now and again. He had made it, he made it into the room… he had to get help for Regulus. But his body hurt all over and he was so tired.

"And just what do you think you are doing?" Courage felt shivers rack his body as the worse possible person suddenly appeared over him. The red-purple haired man gazed down at him with amused yellow eyes. He folded his thin arms over his chest and stared down at. He let out an irritated sigh of breath and reached down, picking Courage up in a careless hold. The boy let out a whimper and squirmed weakly, much too weak to fight the man.

"If you do not put that child down this instant, it will be the last thing you do, Katz." Courage stiffened and slowly turned his head which was feeling heavier and heavier by the second. He knew that voice; he would know it anywhere and at any time.

"Russ…?" he whispered, catching sight of black hair and impossibly pale skin. He giggled with his relief and then allowed the darkness of unconsciousness take him within its cooling grasp.

(**)

To Be Continued

So yes, that's the latest chapter. I'm sorry that I didn't post it sooner but I played a small joke on my mom (I told her that I failed all of my classes for the spring semester) and as punishment for 'failing' she took away my internet (overreaction, I KNOW!) but then she wouldn't believe me that I was just joking…


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